a 


RIANG] 


RTHUR  MORRISO 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


}\y 


THE    RED   TRIANGLE 


Works  of 

Arthur   Morrison 


^ 


The  Red  Triangle 
The  Green  Diamond 


L*  C*  Page  &  Company 

New  England  Building 
Boston,  Mass. 


J 


A 


^      ^ 


"'OH,   HE   IS    INNOCENT,   MR.    HEWITT  —  HE   IS,   REALLY!'" 

(See  t>age  170) 


Copyright,  rnof 
By  L.  C    Vagk  &  Company 

(incorporated) 
All  rights  reserved 


Published  July,  1903 
Eighth    Impression,    March,    1906. 


CONTENTS 


hoi 

tVHlJ 


CHAPTER 

I.     The  Affair  of  Samuel's  Diamonds 
II.    The  Affair  of  Samuel's  Diamonds  (Con 
tinned) 

III.  The  Affair  of  Samuel's  Diamonds  (Con. 

tinued) 

IV.  The  Case  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason 

V.  The  Case  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason  (Continued 

VI.  The  Case  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason  (Continued 

VII.  The  Case  of  the  Lever  Key    . 

VIII.  The  Case  of  the  Lever  Key  (Continued 

IX.  The  Case  of  the  Lever  Key  (Continued 

X.  The  Case  of  the  Lever  Key  (Continued 

XI.  The  Case  of  the  Burnt  Barn 

XII.  The  Case  of  the  Burnt  Barn  (Continued 

XIII.  The  Case  of  the  Burnt  Barn  (Continued 

XIV.  The  Case  of  the  Burnt  Barn  (Continued 
XV.  The  Case  of  the  Burnt  Barn  (Continued 

XVI.     The  Case  of  the  Admiralty  Code  . 
XVII.     The  Case  of  the  Admiralty  Code  (Con 

tinued)         .         .         . 
XVIII.     The  Case  of  the  Admiralty  Code  (Con 

tinued) 

XIX.     The  Adventure  of  Channel  Marsh 


19 

33 

55 

7* 

9i 

107 

122 

137 

151 

157 

162 

176 

190 

204 

209 

230 

250 
2,,;9 


*******# 


199 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.     The  Adventure  of  Channel  Marsh  {Con- 
tinued)       .......     264 

XXI.     The  Adventure  of  Channel  Marsh  {Con- 
tinued)         272 

XXII.     The  Adventure  of  Channel  Marsh  {Con- 
tinued)         285 

XXIII.     The  Adventure  of  Channel  Marsh  {Con- 
tinued)         298 


THE    AFFAIR    OF   SAMUEL'S 
DIAMONDS 


»     » 

■»     »  »a  »   »  » 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   AFFAIR   OF   SAMUEl/s   DIAMONDS 

I  have  already  recorded  many  of  the  adventures  oi 
my  friend  Martin  Hewitt,  but  among  them  there 
have  been  more  of  a  certain  few  which  were  dis- 
covered to  be  related  together  in  a  very  extraordinary 
manner ;  and  it  is  to  these  that  I  am  now  at  liberty 
to  address  myself.  There  may  have  been  others — 
cases  which  gave  no  indication  of  their  connection 
with  these ;  some  of  them  indeed  I  may  have  told 
without  a  suspicion  of  their  connection  with  the 
Red  Triangle ;  but  the  first  in  which  that  singular 
accompaniment  became  apparent  was  the  matter 
of  Samuel's  diamonds.  The  case  exhibited  many 
interesting  features,  and  I  was  very  anxious  to  re- 
port it,  with  perhaps  even  less  delay  than  I  had 
thought  judicious  in  other  cases ;  but  Hewitt 
restrained  me, 

"  No,  Brett,"  he  said,  u  there  is  more  to  come  of 
this.  This  particular  case  is  over,  it  is  true,  but 
there  is  much  behind.  I've  an  idea  that  I  shall  see 
that   Red  Triangle  again.     I  may,  or,  of  course,  I 


4  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

may  not ;  but  there  is  deep  work  going  on — 
very  deep  work,  and  whether  we  see  more  of  it  or 
not,  I  must  keep'  prepared.'  I  can't  afford  to  throw 
a  single  cjird upoh'thje  table*,  So,  as  many  notes  as 
you  please,  Brett,  for  future  reference ;  but  no 
publication  yet — none  of  your  journalism  I" 

Hewitt  was  right.  It  was  not  so  long  before  we 
heard  more  of  the  Red  Triangle,  and  after  that 
more,  though  the  true  connection  of  some  of  the 
cases  with  the  mysterious  symbol  and  the  meaning 
of  the  symbol  itself  remained  for  a  time  undis- 
covered. But  at  last  Hewitt  was  able  to  unmask 
the  hideous  secret,  and  for  ever  put  an  end  to  the 
evil  influence  that  gathered  about  the  sign ;  and 
now  there  remains  no  reason  why  the  full  story 
should  not  be  told. 

I*"  I  have  told  elsewhere  of  my  first  acquaintance 
/  with  Martin  Hewitt,  of  his  pleasant  and  companion- 
/  able    nature,  his    ordinary   height,    his    stoutness, 
his  round,  smiling  face — those  characteristics  that 
•/  /     aided  him  so  well  in  his  business  of   investigator, 
so    unlike    was    his    appearance    and    manner    to 
/      that    of    the    private    detective    of    the    ordinary 
^^person's  imagination.    Therefore   I  need   only  re- 
mind my  readers  that  my  bachelor  chambers  were, 
during    most    of    my    acquaintance    with   Hewitt, 
in  the  old    building  near    the    Strand,  in   which 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  5 

Hewitt's  office  stood  at  the  top  of  the  first  flight  of 
stairs  ;  where  the  plain  ground-glass  of  the  door 
bore  as  inscription  the  single  word  "  Hewitt,"  and 
the  sharp  lad,  Kerrett,  first  received  visitors  in  the 
outer  office. 

Next  door  to  this  old  house,  at  the  time  I  am  to 
speak  of,  a  much  newer  building  stood,  especially 
built  for  letting  out  in  offices.  It  happened  that  one 
day  as  Hewitt  left  his  office  for  a  late  lunch,  he 
became  aware  of  a  pallid  and  agitated  Jew  who  was 
pervading  the  front  door  of  this  adjoining  building. 
The  man  exhibited  every  sign  of  nervous  expectancy, 
staring  this  way  and  that  up  and  down  the  busy 
street,  and  once  or  twice  rushing  aimlessly  half-way 
up  the  inner  stairs,  and  as  often  returning  to  the 
door.  Apprehension  was  plain  on  his  pale  face,  and 
he  was  clearly  in  a  state  that  blinded  his  attention 
to  the  ordinary  matters  about  him,  just  as  happens 
when  a  man  is  in  momentary  and  nervous  expecta- 
tion of  some  serious  event 

Noting  these  things  as  he  passed,  with  no  more 
than  the  observation  that  was  his  professional  habit, 
Hewitt  proceeded  to  his  lunch.  This  done  with,  he 
returned  to  his  office,  perceiving,  as  he  passed  the 
next-door  building,  that  the  distracted  Jew  was  no 
longer  visible.  It  seemed  plain  that  the  person  or 
the  event  he  had  awaited  with  such  obvious  nervous- 


6  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

ness  had  arrived  and  passed ;  one  more  of  the 
problems,  anxieties  or  crises  that  join  and  unravel 
moment  by  moment  in  the  human  ant-hill  of  London, 
had  perhaps  closed  for  good  or  ill  within  the  past 
half-hour  ;  perhaps  it  had  only  begun. 

A  message  awaited  Hewitt  at  his  office — an  urgent 
message.  The  housekeeper  had  come  in  from  next 
door,  Kerrett  reported,  with  an  urgent  request  that 
Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  would  go  immediately  to  the 
offices  of  Mr.  Denson,  on  the  third  floor.  The 
housekeeper  seemed  to  know  little  or  nothing  of  the 
business,  except  that  a  Mr.  Samuel  was  alone  in 
Mr.  Denson's  office,  and  had  sent  the  message. 

With  no  delay  Hewitt  transferred  himself  to  the 
next-door  offices.  There  the  housekeeper,  who 
inhabited  a  uniform  and  a  glass  box  opposite  the 
foot  of  the  first  flight  of  stairs,  directed  Hewitt,  with 
the  remark  that  the  gentleman  was  very  impatient 
and  very  much  upset.  "  Third  floor,  sir,  second 
door  on  the  right ;  name  Denson  on  the  door. 
There's  no  lift." 

"  W.F.  Denson  "  was  the  complete  name,  followed 
by  the  line  "  Foreign  and  Commission  Agent." 
This  Hewitt  read  with  some  little  difficulty,  for  the 
door  was  open,  and  on  the  threshold  stood  that 
tame  agitated  Jew  whom  Hewitt  had  seen  at  the 
front  door. 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  y 

A  little  less  actively  perturbed  now,  he  was  never- 
theless still  nervously  pale.  u  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  ?  " 
he  cried,  while  Hewitt  was  still  only  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs.     u  Is  it  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  ?" 

Hewitt  came  quietly  along  the  corridor,  using 
eyes  and  ears  as  he  came.  The  Jew  was  a  man  of 
middle  height,  very  obviously  Jewish,  and  with  a 
slight  accent  that  hinted  a  Continental  origin. 

u 1  have  just  received  your  message,"  Hewitt  said, 
"and,  as  you  see,  I  am  here  with  no  delay.  Is  Mr. 
Denson  in  ?  " 

u  No — good  heafens  no — I  would  gif  anything  if 
he  was,  Mr.  Hewitt  Come  in,  do  !  I  haf  been 
robbed — robbed  by  Denson  himself,  wit'out  a  wort 
of  doubt.  It  is  terrible — terrible  1  Fifteen  t'ousant 
pounds  I  It  ruins  me,  Mr.  Hewitt,  ruins  me  1 
Unless  you  can  recover  it  I  If  you  recover  it, 
I  will  pay — pay — oh,  I  will  pay  fery  well  indeed  I " 

There  was  a  characteristically  sudden  moderation 
of  the  client's  emphasis  when  he  came  to  the  en- 
gagement to  pay.  Hewitt  had  observed  it  in  other 
clients,  but  it  did  not  disturb  him. 

"  First,"  he  said, "  you  must  tell  me  your  difficulty. 
You  say  you  have  been  robbed  of  fifteen  thousand 
pounds " 

"  Tiamonts,  Mr.  Hewitt— tiamont*  I  All  from  the 
case— here  is  the  case,  empty " 


S  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

"  Let  us  be  methodical.  We  will  shut  the  door 
and  sit ,  down."  Hewitt  pressed  his  client  into  a 
chair  and  produced  his  note-book.  u  It  will  be 
better  to  begin  at  the  beginning.  First,  I  should 
like  to  know  your  name,  and  a  few  such  particulars 
as  that/' 

"  Lewis  Samuel,  Hatton  Garden — 150,  Hatton 
Garden — tiamont  merchant." 

"  Yes.  And  what  is  your  connection  with  Mr„ 
Denson  ?  " 

"  Business — just  business,"  Samuel  responded. 
He  pronounced  it  "pishness,"  and  it  seemed  his 
favourite  word.  u  Like  this  ;  I  will  tell  you.  I  haf 
known  him  some  time,  and  did  at  first  small  pish- 
ness. He  bought  a  little  tiamont  and  haf  it  set  in 
pracelet,  and  he  pay — straightforward  pishness. 
Then  he  bought  some  very  good  paste  stones,  all  set 
in  gold,  and  he  pay — quite  straightforward  pishness. 
At  the  same  time  he  says,  i  I  am  pishness  man 
myself,  Mr.  Samuel,'  he  says,  '  and  I  like  to  make  a 
little  moneys  as  well  as  pay  out  sometimes.  Don't 
you  want  any  little  agencies  done  ?  I  do  all  foreign 
commissions,  and  I  can  forwart  and  receive  and 
clear  at  dock  and  custom  house.  If  you  send  any 
tiamonts  I  can  consign  and  insure — very  cheapest 
rates  to  you,  special.  If  you  want  brokerage  or  buy 
*nd  sell  for  you,  confidential,  I  can  do  it  with  lowest 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  9 

commission.  Especially  I  haf  good  connection  with 
America.  I  haf  many  rich  Americans,  principals  and 
customers/  he  says,  '  and  often  I  could  do  pishness 
for  you  when  they  come  over/  " 

u  By  which  he  meant  he  might  sell  them 
diamonds  ?  "  Hewitt  queried. 

"Just  so,  Mr.  Hewitt — reg'lar  pishness.  And 
after  that  two  or  three  little  parcels  of  tiamonts  he 
bought — for  American  customers,  he  says.  But  he 
says  he  can  do  bigger  pishness  soon.  Ay,  so  he  has 
— goot  heavens,  he  has  I  But  I  tell  you.  I  do  also 
one  or  two  small  pishnesses  with  him,  and  that  is  all 
right — he  treat  me  very  well  and  I  pay  when  it  suits. 
Then  he  says,  *  Samuel/  he  says,  very  friendly  now 
inteet,  '  Samuel,  could  you  get  a  nice  large  lot  of 
tiamonts  for  an  American  customer  I  expect  here 
soon  ? '  And  I  say, '  Of  course  I  can/  '  Enough/ 
he  says,  4  to  fit  out  a  rich  man's  wife — that  is,  to 
pegin.  He  is  not  long  rich,  and  he  will  want  more 
soon — ah,  she  will  make  him  pay  I  But  to  pegin — 
a  good  fit-out  of  tiamonts,  eh  ? ' 

"I  tell  him  yes,  and  I  offer  usual  commission. 
But  no,  says  Denson,  he  wants  no  commission  ;  he 
will  make  his  own  profit.  That  I  don't  mind  so 
long  as  I  get  mine  ;  so  I  agree  to  put  the  tiamonts 
in  at  a  price.  The  American,  he  says,  is  to  come 
over  about  a  big  company  deal,   and  when   it  is 


io  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

through  he  will  pay  well.  So  last  week  I  pring  a 
peautiful  collection  all  cut  but  unset,  and  I  wait 
out  in  that  room  while  Denson  shows  them  to  his 
customer." 

"  You  mean  you  let  them  out  of  your  sight  ?  * 

44  Yes — that  is  not  so  uncommon  ;  reg'lar  pish- 
ness.  You  see  I  was  out  here — this  is  the  only  way 
out.  Denson  was  in  the  inner  office  with  the  stones 
and  the  American.  Neither  could  get  out  without 
passing  here.  And  I  had  done  pishness  with  him 
alretty." 

"Well?" 

44  You  see  I  wait  downstairs  with  my  case — this 
case — till  Denson  sends  down.  He  doesn't  want 
me  to  show — fery  natural,  you  see,  in  pishness. 
When  I  sell  to  make  a  profit,  perhaps  for  somebody 
else,  I  don't  want  that  somebody  to  know  my  cus- 
tomer, else  he  sells  direct  and  I  lose  my  profit — fery 
natural.     See  ?  " 

44  Of  course,  I  understand.  It's  a  point  of  business 
among  you  gentlemen  to  keep  your  own  customers 
to  yourselves.  And  often,  no  doubt,  diamonds  pass 
through  several  hands  before  reaching  the  eventual 
customer,  leaving  a  profit  in  each." 

"Always,  Mr.  Hewitt — always,  you  might  say. 
Well,  you  see,  Denson  sends  down  that  his  cus- 
tomer is  in,  and  I   come  up.     Denson  comes  out 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  ii 

from  the  inner  office,  takes  my  case,  and  I  wait  in 
there." 

The  case  which  Samuel  showed  Hewitt  was  of 
black  leather,  perhaps  eighteen  inches  long  by  a  foot 
wide.  The  arrangement  of  the  office  was  simple. 
In  this,  the  outer  room,  a  small  space  was  partitioned 
off  by  means  of  a  ground  glass  screen,  and  it  was  in 
there  that  Samuel  meant  that  he  had  waited. 

"  Well,  he  took  the  case  in,  and  I  could  hear  some 
sound  of  talking — but  not  much,  you  see,  the  door 
being  shut.  After  a  time  the  door  opens  and  I  hear 
Denson  say  :  *  Very  well,  think  over  it ;  but  don't 
be  long  or  you'll  lose  the  chance.  Excuse  me  while 
I  put  them  back  in  the  safe/  Then  he  shuts  the  door 
and  brings  the  case  to  me  and  goes  back.  But  of 
course  I  stay  till  I  haf  looked  very  carefully  through 
all  the  tiamonts,  in  th  :  different  compartments  of 
the  case,  in  case  one  might  haf  dropped  on  the  floor, 
or  got  changed,  you  know.     That  is  pishness." 

"  Just  so.     And  they  were  all  right  ?  " 

"  All  right  and  same  as  the  list — I  know  well  a 
tiamont  that  I  haf  seen  once.  So  I  go  away,  and 
afterwards  Denson  tells  me  that  the  American  liked 
much  the  stones  but  wouldn't  quite  come  up  to 
price.  That,  of  course,  is  fery  usual  pishness.  '  But 
he  will  rise,  Samuel/  Denson  says.  '  I  know  him 
quite  well,  and  them  tiamonts  is  as  good  as  sold  with 


ia  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

a  good  profit  for  me  ;  and  a  good  one  for  you,  too, 
I  bet,'  he  says.  I  was  putting  the  lot  to  him  for 
fifteen  f  ousant  pounds,  and  it  would  have  been  a 
nice  profit  in  that  for  me.  And  then  Denson  he 
chaffs  me  and  he  says,  '  Ah  !  Samuel/  he  says, 
'  wasn't  you  afraid  my  customer  and  me  would 
hook  it  out  o'  the  window  with  all  your  stones  ? ' 
I  don't  like  that  sort  o'  joke  in  pishness,  you  see, 
but  I  say,  ■  All  right — I  wasn't  afraid  o'  that.  The 
window  was  a  mile  too  high,  and  besides  I  could 
see  it  from  where  I  was  a-sitting.'  And  so  I  could, 
you  see,  plain  enough  to  see  if  it  was  opened." 

The  ground-glass  partition,  in  fact,  cut  off  a  part 
of  the  window  of  the  outer  office,  which,  being  at 
an  angle  with  the  inner  room,  gave  a  side  view  of 
the  window  that  lighted  that  apartment. 

"  Denson    laughed    at    that,"   Samuel   went    on. 

u  4  Ha-ha ! '    says   he,  '  I    never    thought  of    that. 

Then  you  could  see  the  American's  hat  hanging  up 

just  by  the  window — rum  hat,  ain't  it  ? '    And  that 

was  quite  true,  for  I  had  noticed  it — a  big,  grey 

wideawake,  almost  white." 

'  Hewitt   nodded    approvingly.      u  You   are  quite 

ight,"  he  said,  "to  tell  me  everything  you  recollect, 

even  of  the  most  trivial  sort ;  the  smallest  thing  may 

>e  very  valuable.     So  you  took  your  diamonds  away 

the  first  time,  last  week.     What  next  ?  " 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  13 

44  Well,  I  came  again,  just  the  same,  to-day,  by 
appointment.  Just  the  same  I  sat  in  that  place,  and 
just  the  same  Denson  took  the  case  into  the  inner 
room.  '  He's  come  to  buy  this  time,  I  can  see, 
Denson  whispers,  and  winks.  '  But  he'll  fight  hard 
over  the  price.  We'll  see  I '  and  off  he  goes  into  the 
other  room.  Well,  I  waited.  I  waited  and  I  waited 
a  long  time.  I  looked  out  sideways  at  the  window, 
and  there  I  see  the  American's  big  wideawake  hat 
hanging  up  just  inside  the  other  window,  same  as 
last  time.  So  I  think  they  are  a  long  time  settling 
the  price,  and  I  wait  some  more.  But  it  is  such  a 
very  long  time,  and  I  begin  to  feel  uneasy.  Of 
course,  I  know  you  cannot  sell  fifteen  t'ousant  wort' 
of  tiamonts  in  ive  minutes — that  is  not  reasonable 
pishness.  But  I  could  hear  nothing  at  all  now — 
not  a  sound.  And  the  boy — the  boy  that  came 
down  to  call  me  up — he  wasn't  come  back.  But 
there  I  could  see  the  big  wideawake  hat  still  hanging 
inside  the  window,  and  of  course  I  knew  there  was 
only  one  door  out  of  the  inner  room,  right  before 
me,  so  it  seemed  foolish  to  be  uneasy.  So  I  waited 
longer  still,  but  now  it  was  so  late,  1  thought  they 
ihould  have  come  out  to  lunch  before  this,  and  then 
I  was  fery  uneasy — fery  uneasy  inteet.  So  I  thought 
I  would  pretend  to  be  a  new  caller,  and  I  opened 
the  outer  office  door  and  banged  it,  and  walked  in 


i4  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

very  loud  and  knocked  on  the  boy's  table.  1 
thought  Denson  would  come  when  he  heard  that, 
but  no — there  was  not  a  sound.  So  I  got  more  un- 
easy, and  I  opened  the  window  and  leaned  out  as 
far  as  I  could,  to  look  in  at  the  other  window. 
There  I  could  see  nothing  but  the  big  hat  and  the 
back  of  a  chair  and  a  bit  of  the  room — empty.  So 
I  went  and  banged  the  outer  door  again,  and  called 
out, i  Hi !  Mr.  Denson,  you're  wanted  1  Hi  1  d'y'ear  V 
and  knocked  with  my  umbrella  on  the  inner  door ; 
and,  Mr.  Hewitt — you  might  have  knocked  me  down 
with  half  a  feather  when  I  got  no  answer  at  all — 
not  a  sound  1  I  opened  the  door,  Mr.  Hewitt,  and 
there  was  nobody  there — nobody  I  There  was  my 
leather  case  on  the  table,  open — and  empty  1  Fifteen 
t'ousant  pounds  in  tiamonts,  Mr.  Hewitt — it  ruins 
me!" 

Hewitt  rose,  and  flung  wide  the  inner  office  door. 
u  This  is  certainly  the  only  door,"  he  said,  "  and  that 
is  the  only  window— quite  well  in  view  from  where 
you  sat.  There  is  the  wideawake  hat  still  hanging 
there — see,  it  is  quite  new;  obviousry  brought  for 
you  to  look  at,  it  would  seem.  The  door  and  the 
window  were  not  used,  and  the  chimney  is  impos- 
sible— register  grate.  But  there  was  one  other  way 
—there." 

The  inner  wall  of  each  of  the  rooms  was  the  wall 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  15 

of  the  corridor  into  which  all  the  offices  opened,  and 
this  corridor  was  lighted — and  the  offices  partly 
ventilated — by  a  sort  of  hinged  casement  or  fanlight 
close  up  by  the  ceiling,  oblong,  and  extending  the 
most  of  the  length  of  each  room.  Plainly  an  active 
man,  not  too  stout,  might  mount  a  chair-back,  and 
climb  very  quietly  through  the  opening.  "  That's 
the  only  way,"  said  Hewitt,  pointing. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Samuel,  nodding  and  rubbing 
his  knuckles  together  nervously.  "  I  saw  it — saw  it 
when  it  was  too  late.  But  who'd  have  thought  o' 
such  a  thing  beforehand  ?  And  the  American — 
either  there  wasn't  an  American  at  all,  or  he  got  out 
the  same  way.  But,  anyway,  here  I  am,  and  the 
tiamonts  are  gone,  and  there  is  nothing  here  but  the 
furniture — not  worth  twenty  pound  1 " 

44  Well,"  Hewitt  said,  "so  far,  I  think  I  understand, 
though  I  may  have  questions  to  ask  presently.  But 
go  on." 

"  Go  on  ?  But  there  is  no  more,  Mr.  Hewitt  1 
Quite  enough,  don't  you  think  ?  There  is  no  more 
— I  am  robbed  !" 

"  But  when  you  found  the  empty  room,  and  the 
case,  what  did  you  do  ?     Send  for  the  police  ?" 

The  Jew's  face  clouded  slightly.  "No,  Mr. 
Hewitt,"  he  said,  u  not  for  the  police,  but  for  you. 
Reason  plain   enough.     The   police   make  a  great 


16  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

fuss,  and  they  want  to  arrest  the  criminal.  Quite 
right — I  want  to  arrest  him,  and  punish  him  too, 
plenty.  But  most  I  want  the  tiamonts  back,  because 
if  not  it  ruins  me.  If  it  was  to  make  choice  between 
two  things  for  me,  whether  to  punish  Denson  or  get 
my  tiamonts,  then  of  course  I  take  the  tiamonts,  and 
let  Denson  go — I  cannot  be  ruined.  But  with  the 
police,  if  it  is  their  choice,  they  catch  the  thief  first, 
and  hold  him  tight,  whether  it  loses  the  property  or 
not ;  the  property  is  only  second  with  them — with 
me  it  is  first  and  second,  and  all.  So  I  take  no  more 
risks  than  I  can  help,  Mr.  Hewitt.  I  have  sent  for 
you  to  get  first  the  stones — afterwards  the  thief  if 
you  can.  But  first  my  property  ;  you  can  perhaps 
find  Denson  and  make  him  give  it  up  rather  than  go 
to  prison.  That  would  be  better  than  having  him 
taken  and  imprisoned,  and  perhaps  the  stones  put 
away  safe  all  the  time  ready  for  him  when  he  came 
out." 

"Still,  the  police  can  do  things  that  I  can't," 
Hewitt  interposed  ;  "  stop  people  leaving  or  landing 
at  ports,  and  the  like.     I  think  we  should  see  them." 

Samuel  was  anxiously  emphatic.  "  No,  Mr. 
Hewitt,"  he  said,  u  certainly  not  the  police.  There 
are  reasons — no,  not  the  police,  Mr.  Hewitt,  at  any 
rate,  not  till  you  have  tried.  I  cannot  haf  the  police 
—just  yet" 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  17 

Martin  Hewitt  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "Very 
well,"  he  said, "  if  those  are  your  instructions,  I'll  do 
my  best.  And  so  you  sent  for  me  at  once,  as  soon 
as  you  discovered  the  loss  ?  " 

-  Yes,  at  once." 

"  Without  telling  anybody  else  f  w 

*  I  haf  tolt  nobody." 

"Did  you  look  about  anywhere  for  Denson — in 
the  street,  or  what  not  ?  " 

•  No — what  was  the  good  ?  He  was  gone  ;  there 
was  time  for  him  to  go  miles." 

44  Very  good.  And  speaking  of  time,  let  me  judge 
how  far  he  may  have  gone.  How  long  were  you 
kept  waiting  ?  " 

44  Two  hours  and  a  quarter,  very  near — within  five 
minutes." 

m  By  your  watch  1  * 

"Yes — I  looked  often,  to  see  if  it  was  so  long 
waiting  as  it  seemed." 

"  Very  good.  Do  you  happen  to  have  a  piece  of 
Denson's  writing  about  you  ?  " 

Samuel  looked  round  him.  "There's  nothing 
about  here,"  he  said,  u  but  perhaps  we  can  find — oh 
here — here's  a  post-card."  He  took  the  card  from 
his  pocket,  and  gave  it  to  Hewitt. 

44  There  is  nothing  else  to  tell  me,  then  f  *  queried 
Hewitt      "Are   you  sure   that  you  have  forgotten 


18  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

nothing  that  has  happened  since  you  first  arrived 
— nothing  at  all  f  *  There  was  meaning  in  the 
emphasis,  and  a  sharp  look  in  Hewitt's  eyes. 

H  No,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  Samuel  answered,  hastily ; 
"  there  is  nothing  else  I  can  tell  you." 

"Then  I  will  think  it  over  at  once.  You  had 
better  go  back  quietly  to  your  office,  and  think  it 
over  yourself,  in  case  you  have  forgotten  something  ; 
and  I  need  hardly  warn  you  to  keep  quiet  as  to  what 
has  passed  between  us — unless  you  tell  the  police. 
I  think  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  a  glance  over 
Mr.  Denson's  office,  and  since  his  office  boy  still 
stays  away,  I  will  lend  him  my  clerk  for  a  little.  He 
will  keep  his  eyes  open  if  any  callers  come,  and  his 
ears  too.     Wait  while  I  fetch  him." 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  AFFAIR  OF  SAMUEl/s  DIAMONDS    (CONTINUED) 

It  was  at  this  point  that  my  humble  part  in  the  case 
began,  for  Hewitt  hurried  first  to  my  rooms. 

"Brett,"  he  exclaimed,  "are  you  engaged  this 
afternoon  ?  " 

"  No — nothing  important." 

"  Will  you  do  me  a  small  favour  ?  I  have  a  rather 
interesting  case.  I  want  a  man  watched  for  an 
hour  or  so,  and  I  haven't  a  soul  to  do  it.  Kerrett 
may  be  known,  and  I  am  known.  Besides,  there  is 
another  job  for  Kerrett." 

Of  course,  I  expressed  myself  willing  to  do  what 
I  could. 

"  Capital,"  replied  Hewitt.  "Come  along — you 
like  these  adventures,  I  know,  or  I  wouldn't  have 
asked  you  ;  and  you  know  the  dodges  in  this  sort 
of  observation.  The  man  is  one  Samuel,  a  Jew,  of 
150  Hatton  Garden,  diamond  dealer.  I'll  tell  you 
more  afterwards.  Kerrett  and  I  are  going  into  the 
offices  next  door,  and  I  want  you  to  wait  thereabout. 
Presently  I  will  come  downstairs  with  him  and  he 


20  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

will  go  away.  An  hour  or  so  will  be  enough, 
probably." 

I  followed  Hewitt  downstairs.  He  took  Kerrett 
with  him  and  locked  his  office  door.  I  saw  them 
both  disappear  within  the  large  new  building,  and 
I  waited  near  a  convenient  postal  pillar-box,  pre- 
pared to  seem  very  busy  with  a  few  old  letters  from 
my  pocket  until  my  man's  back  was  turned. 

In  a  very  few  minutes  Hewitt  re-appeared,  this 
time  with  a  man — a  Jew,  obviously — whom  I  re- 
membered having  seen  already  at  the  door  of  that 
office  more  than  an  hour  before,  as  I  had  passed  on 
the  way  from  the  bookseller's  at  the  corner.  The 
man  walked  briskly  up  the  street,  and  I,  on  the 
opposite  side,  did  the  same,  a  little  in  the  rear. 

He  turned  the  corner,  and  at  once  slackened  his 
pace  and  looked  about  him.  He  took  a  peep  back 
along  the  street  he  had  left,  and  then  hailed  a 
cab. 

For  a  hundred  yards  or  more  I  was  obliged  to  trot, 
till  I  saw  another  cab  drop  its  fare  just  ahead,  and 
managed  to  secure  it  and  give  the  cabman  instruc- 
tions to  follow  the  cab  in  front,  before  it  turned  a 
corner.  The  chase  was  difficult,  for  the  horse  that 
drew  me  was  a  poor  one,  and  half  a  dozen  times  I 
thought  I  had  lost  sight  of  the  other  cab  altogether ; 
but  my  cabman  was  better  than  his  animal,  and  from 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  21 

his  high  perch  he  kept  the  chase  in  view,  turning 
corners  and  picking  out  the  cab  ahead  among  a 
dozen  others  with  surprising  certainty.  We  went 
across  Charing  Cross  Road  by  way  of  Cranborne 
Street,  past  Leicester  Square,  through  Coventry 
Street  and  up  the  Quadrant  and  Regent  Street  At 
Oxford  Circus  the  Jew's  cab  led  us  to  the  left,  and 
along  Oxford  Street  we  chased  it  past  Bond  Street 
end.  Suddenly  my  cab  pulled  up  with  a  jerk,  and 
the  driver  spoke  through  the  trapdoor.  "That 
fare's  getting  down,  sir,"  he  said,  u  at  the  corner  o' 
Duke  Street." 

I  thrust  a  half-crown  up  through  the  hole  and 
sprang  out  "'E's  crossing  the  road,  sir,"  the  cab- 
man finally  reported,  and  I  hurried  across  the  street 
accordingly. 

The  man  I  was  watching  was  strikingly  Jewish 
enough,  and  easy  to  distinguish  in  a  crowd.  I  had 
almost  overtaken  him  before  he  had  gone  a  dozen 
yards  up  the  northern  end  of  Duke  Street.  He 
walked  on  into  Manchester  Square.  There  a  small, 
neat  brougham,  with  blinds  drawn,  was  being  driven 
slowly  round  the  central  garden.  I  saw  Samuel 
walk  hurriedly  up  to  this  brougham,  which  stopped 
as  he  approached.  He  stepped  quickly  into  the 
carriage  and  shut  the  door  behind  him.  The 
brougham  resumed  its  slow  progress,  and  I  loitered, 


22  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

keeping  it  in  view,  though  the  blinds  were  drawn 
so  close  that  it  was  impossible  to  guess  who  might 
be  Samuel's  companion,  if  he  had  one.  I  think  I 
have  said  that  when  the  Jew  came  to  the  office  door 
with  H  ewitt  I  perceived  that  he  was  a  man  1  had  seen 
before  that  day.  1  was  now  convinced  that  I  had 
also  seen  that  same  brougham,  at  the  same  time ; 
but  of  this  presently. 

The  carriage  made  one  slow  circuit,  and  then 
Samuel  got  out  and  shut  the  door  quickly  again.  1 
took  the  precaution  of  turning  my  back  and  letting 
him  overtake  and  pass  me  on  his  way  back  through 
Duke  Street.  At  the  end  of  the  street  he  mounted 
an  omnibus  going  east,  and  I  took  another  seat  in 
the  same  vehicle.  The  rest  was  uninteresting.  He 
went  direct  to  No.  150  Hatton  Garden,  and  there 
remained.  I  read  his  name  on  the  door-post  among 
a  score  of  others,  and  after  a  twenty-minutes'  wait  I 
returned  to  my  rooms.  I  had  no  doubt  that  it  was 
the  meeting  in  the  brougham  that  Hewitt  wished 
reported,  and  I  remembered  his  rule  was  never  to 
watch  a  man  a  moment  after  the  main  object  was 
secured. 

Hewitt  was  out,  and  he  did  not  return  till  after 
dusk.  Then  he  came  straightway  to  my  rooms. 
"Well,  Brett,"  he  said,  "what's  the  report?  As  a 
matter  of    fact,   Samuel    is  my   client,   as    I   shall 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  23 

explain  presently.  I  don't  like  spying  on  a  client,  as 
a  rule,  but  I  was  convinced  that  he  was  keeping 
something  back  from  me,  and  there  was  something 
odd  about  his  whole  story.    But  what  did  you  see  ?  " 

I  told  Hewitt  the  tale  of  my  pursuit  as  I  have  told 
it  here.  "  I  came  away/'  I  concluded,  "  after  it 
seemed  that  he  was  settled  in  his  office  for  a  bit. 
But  there  is  another  thing  you  should  know.  When 
he  first  came  out  with  you  I  recognised  him  at  once 
as  a  man  I  had  seen  at  that  same  door  a  little  after 
two  o'clock — say  a  quarter  past." 

"  Yes  ?"  answered  Hewitt.  "I  saw  him  there 
myself  a  little  sooner — something  like  two,  I  should 
say.     What  was  he  doing  ?  * 

"  Well,"  I  replied,  u  he  was  doing  pretty  well  what 
he  did  in  Manchester  Square.  For  as  a  matter  of 
fact  the  brougham  also  was  here  then — just  outside 
the  next-door  office.  I  think  I  might  swear  to  that 
same  brougham — though  of  course  1  didn't  notice  it 
so  particularly  that  first  time." 

Hewitt  whistled.  "Oh!"  he  said.  "Tell  me 
about  this.  Did  he  get  into  the  brougham  this 
time?" 

"Yes.  He  came  out  of  the  office  door  with  a 
black  leather  case  in  his  hand  and  a  very  scared  look 
on  his  face.  And  he  popped  into  the  brougham* 
leather  case,  scared  look  and  all." 


24  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

"Ho— ho!"  said  Hewitt,  thoughtfully,  and 
whistled  again.  "  A  black  leather  case,  eh  I  Come, 
come,  the  plot  thickens.  And  what  happened  ?  Did 
the  carriage  go  off  ?  " 

"  No ;  I  saw  nothing  more — shouldn't  have 
noticed  so  much,  in  fact,  if  the  whole  thing  hadn't 
looked  a  trifle  curious.  Nervous,  pallid  Jew  with  a 
black  case — as  though  he  thought  it  was  dynamite 
and  might  go  off  at  any  moment — closed  brougham, 
blinds  drawn,  Jew  skipped  in  and  banged  the  door, 
but  brougham  didn't  move  ;  and  I  fancied — perhaps 
only  fancied — that  I  saw  a  woman's  black  veil 
inside.  But  then  I  turned  in  here  and  saw  no 
more." 

Hewitt  sat  thoughtfully  silent  for  a  few  moments. 
Then  he  rose  and  said,  "Come  next  door,  and  I'll 
tell  you  how  we  stand.  The  housekeeper  will  let  us 
in,  and  we'll  see  if  you  can  identify  that  black  case 
anywhere." 

It  seemed  that  Hewitt  had  by  this  established  a 
good  understanding  with  the  housekeeper  next  door. 
"  Nobody's  been,  sir,"  the  man  said,  as  he  admitted 
us  and  closed  the  heavy  doors.  "Office  boy  not 
come  back,  nor  nothing." 

We  went  up  to  Denson's  office  on  the  third  floor, 
the  door  of  which  the  housekeeper  opened ;  and 
having  turned  on  the  electric  light,  he  left  us. 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  25 

"Now,  is  that  anything  like  the  case?"  Hewitt 
asked,  when  the  housekeeper  was  gone ;  and  he 
lifted  from  under  the  table  the  very  black  case  1  had 
seen  Samuel  take  into  the  brougham. 

1  said  that  I  felt  as  sure  of  the  case  as  of  the 
brougham.  And  then  Hewitt  told  me  the  whole 
tale  of  Samuel  and  his  loss  of  fifteen  thousand 
pounds'  worth  of  diamonds,  just  as  it  appears  earlier 
in  this  narrative. 

u  Now,  see  here,"  said  Hewitt,  when  he  had  made 
me  acquainted  with  his  client's  tale,  u  there  is  some- 
thing odd  about  all  this.  See  this  post-card  which 
Samuel  gave  me.  It  is  from  Denson,  and  it  makes 
this  morning's  appointment.  See  1  *  Be  down  below 
at  eleven  sharp '  is  the  message.  He  came  and  he 
waited  just  two  hours  and  a  quarter,  as  he  tells  me, 
being  certain  to  the  time  within  five  minutes.  That 
brings  us  to  a  quarter-past  one — the  time  when  he 
finds  he  is  robbed  ;  and  he  came  downstairs  in  a 
very  agitated  state  at  a  quarter-past  one,  as  I  have 
since  ascertained.  At  two  I  pass  and  see  him  still 
dancing  distractedly  on  the  front  steps — certainly 
very  much  like  a  man  who  has  had  a  serious  mis- 
fortune, or  expects  one.  At  a  quarter-past  two — 
that  was  about  it,  I  think?"  (I  nodded)  "At  a 
quarter-past  two  you  see  him,  still  agitated,  diving 
into  the  brougham  with  this  black  case  in  his  hand ; 


26  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

and  a  little  afterward — after  all  this,  mind — he  tells 
me  this  story  of  a  robbery  of  diamonds  from  that  very 
case,  and  assures  me  that  he  sent  for  me  the  moment 
he  discovered  the  loss — that  is  to  say,  at  a  quarter- 
past  one,  a  positive  lie — and  has  told  nobody  else. 
He  further  assures  me  that  he  has  told  me  every- 
thing that  has  happened  up  to  the  moment  he  meets 
me.  Then  he  goes  away — to  his  office,  as  he  tells 
me.  But  you  find  him  posting  to  Manchester 
Square  in  a  cab,  and  there  once  more  plunging  into 
that  same  mysterious  closed  brougham.  Now  why 
should  he  do  that  ?  He  has  seen  the  person 
in  that  brougham,  presumably,  an  hour  before, 
and  there  can  be  nothing  more  to  communicate, 
except  the  result  of  his  interview  with  me  —  a 
thing  I  warned  him  to  keep  to  himself.  It's  odd, 
isn't  it?" 

"  It  is.    What  can  be  his  motive  ?  " 

*  I  want  to  know  his  motive.  I  object  to  working 
for  a  client  who  deceives  me — indeed,  it's  unsafe.  I 
may  be  making  myself  an  accomplice  in  some 
criminal  scheme.  You  observe  that  he  never  called 
for  the  police — a  natural  impulse  in  a  robbed  man. 
Indeed,  he  expressly  vetoes  all  communication  with 
the  police." 

*  Of  course  he  gave  reasons." 

*■  But  the  reasons  are  not  good  enough.     I  can't 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  27 

stop  a  man  leaving  this  country  anywhere  round  the 
coast  except  by  going  to  the  police." 

"Can  it  be/'  I  suggested,  "that  Samuel  and 
Denson  are  working  in  collusion,  and  have  perhaps 
insured  the  stones,  and  now  want  your  help  to 
make  out  a  case  of  loss  ?  " 

"  Scarcely  that,  I  think,  for  more  than  one  reason. 
First,  it  isn't  a  risk  any  insurer  would  take,  in  the 
circumstances.  Next,  the  insurer  would  certainly 
want  to  know  why  the  police  were  not  informed  at 
once.  But  there  is  more.  I  have  not  been  idle  this 
while,  as  you  would  know.  I  will  tell  you  some  of 
the  things  I  have  ascertained.  To  begin  with, 
Samuel  is  known  in  Hatton  Garden  only  as  a  dealer 
on  a  very  small  and  peddling  scale.  A  dabbler 
in  commissions,  in  fact,  rather  than  a  buyer  and 
seller  of  diamonds  in  quantities  on  his  own  account 
His  office  is  nothing  but  a  desk  in  a  small  room  he 
shares  with  two  others — small  dealers  like  himself. 
When  I  spoke  to  the  people  most  likely  to  know,  of 
his  offering  fifteen  thousand  pounds'  worth  of 
diamonds  on  his  own  account,  they  laughed.  An 
investment  of  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  in  stones 
was  about  his  limit,  they  said.  Now  that  fact  offers 
fresh  suggestions,  doesn't  it  ?  *  Hewitt  looked  at  me 
significantly. 

"You  mean,"  I  said  after  a  little  consideration, 


28  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

"that  Samuel  may  have  been  entrusted  with  the 
diamonds  to  sell  by  the  real  owner,  and  has  made 
all  these  arrangements  with  Denson  to  get  the  gems 
for  themselves  and  represent  them  as  stolen  ?  " 

Hewitt  nodded  thoughtfully.  "There's  that  possi- 
bility," he  said.  "Though  even  in  that  case  the 
owner  would  certainly  want  to  know  why  the  police 
had  not  been  told,  and  I  don't  know  what  satis- 
factory answer  Samuel  could  make.  And  more,  I 
find  that  no  such  robbery  has  been  reported  to  any 
of  the  principal  dealers  in  Hatton  Garden  to-day  ; 
and,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  none  of  them  has 
entrusted  Samuel  with  anything  like  so  large  a 
quantity  of  diamonds  as  he  talks  of — lately,  at  any 
rate," 

"Isn't  it  possible  that  the  diamonds  are  purely 
imaginary?"  I  suggested.  "  Mightn't  there  be  some 
trick  played  on  that  basis  ?  Perhaps  a  trick  on  the 
American  customer — if  there  was  one." 

Hewitt  was  thoughtful.  "There  are  many  possi- 
bilities," he  said,  "which  I  must  consider.  The 
diamonds  may  even  be  stolen  property  to  begin 
with  ;  that  would  account  for  a  great  deal,  though 
perhaps  not  all.  But  the  whole  thing  is  so  oddly 
suspicious,  that  unless  my  client  is  willing  to  let  me 
a  great  deal  further  into  his  confidence  to-morrow 
morning  I  shall  throw  up  the  case*" 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  19 

u  Did  you  direct  any  inquiries  after  Den- 
son  ?  " 

"  Of  course  ;  which  brings  me  to  the  other  things 
I  have  ascertained.  He  has  not  been  here  long — a 
few  months.  I  cannot  find  that  he  has  been  doing 
any  particular  business  all  the  time  with  anybody 
except  Samuel.  With  him,  however,  he  seems  to 
have  been  very  friendly.  The  housekeeper  speaks 
of  them  as  being  '  very  thick  together.'  The  rooms 
are  cheaply  furnished,  as  you  see.  And  here  is 
another  thing  to  consider.  The  housekeeper  vows 
that  he  never  left  his  glass  box  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  from  the  time  Samuel  went  upstairs  first  to  the 
time  when  he  came  down  again,  vastly  agitated,  at 
a  quarter-past  one,  and  sent  a  message  ;  and  during 
all  that  time  Denson  never  passed  the  box  I  And  the 
main  door  is  the  only  way  out" 

"  But  wasn't  he  there  at  all  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  was  there,  certainly,  when  Samuel  came. 
But  note,  now.  Observe  the  sequence  of  things  as 
we.  know  them  now.  First,  there  is  Denson  in  his 
office  ;  I  can  find  nothing  of  any  American  visitor, 
and  I  am  convinced  that  he  is  a  total  fiction,  either 
of  Denson's  or  Samuel  and  Denson  together.  Den- 
son is  in  his  office.  To  him  comes  Samuel.  Neither 
leaves  the  place  till  Samuel  comes  down  at  a  quarter- 
past  one  o'clock.     1   told  you  he  sent  some  sort  of 


3o  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

message.  The  housekeeper  tells  me  that  he  called 
a  passing  commissionaire  and  gave  him  something, 
though  whether  it  was  a  telegram  or  a  note  he  did 
not  see  ;  nor  does  he  know  the  commissionaire,  nor 
his  number — though  he  could  easily  be  found  if  it 
became  necessary,  no  doubt  Samuel  sends  the 
message,  and  waits  on  the  steps,  watching,  in  an 
agitated  manner  (as  would  be  natural,  perhaps,  in  a 
man  engaged  in  an  anxious  and  ticklish  piece  of 
illegality)  for  an  hour,  when  this  mysterious 
brougham  appears.  He  takes  this  black  case  into 
the  brougham,  and  he  obviously  brings  it  out 
again,  for  here  it  is.  Whatever  has  happened,  he 
brings  it  out  empty.  Then  he  sends  the  house- 
keeper for  me.  When  at  length  I  arrive,  Denson 
has  certainly  gone,  but  there  was  an  opportunity 
for  that  while  the  housekeeper  was  absent  on  the 
message  to  my  office — after  all  Samuel's  agitation, 
and  after  he  had  carried  his  case  to  and  from  the 
brougham." 

14  The  whole  thing  is  odd  enough,  certainly,  and 
suspicious  enough.  Have  you  found  anything 
else  ?  " 

u  Yes.  Denson  lives,  or  lived,  in  a  boarding  house 
in  Bloomsbury.  He  has  only  been  there  two 
months,  however,  and  they  know  practically  nothing 
of  him.     To-day  he  came  home  at  an  unusual  time 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  31 

letting  himself  in  with  his  latchkey,  and  went  away 
at  once  with  a  bag,  but  the  accounts  of  the  exact 
time  are  contradictory.  One  servant  thought  it  was 
before  twelve,  and  another  insisted  that  it  was  after 
one.     He  has  not  been  back." 

u  And  the  office  boy — can't  you  get  some  infor- 
mation out  of  him  ?  " 

u  He  hasn't  been  seen  since  the  morning.  I  ex- 
pect Denson  told  him  to  take  a  whole  holiday.  1 
can't  find  where  he  lives,  at  the  moment,  but  -  no 
doubt  he  will  turn  up  to-morrow.  Not  that  I  ex- 
pect to  get  much  from  him.  But  I  shan't  bother. 
Unless  Mr.  Samuel  will  answer  satisfactorily  some 
very  plain  questions  I  shall  ask — and  I  don't  expect 
he  will — I  shall  throw  up  the  commission.  He 
called,  by  the  way,  not  long  ago,  but  I  was  out.  We 
shall  see  him  in  the  morning,  I  expect" 

A  look  round  Denson's  office  taught  me  no  more 
than  it  had  taught  Hewitt  already.  There  were  two 
small  rooms,  one  inside  the  other,  with  ordinary  and 
cheap  office  furniture.  It  was  quite  plain  that  any 
man  of  ordinary  activity  and  size  could  have  got 
out  of  the  inner  room  into  the  corridor  by  the  means 
which  Samuel  suggested — through  the  hinged  wall- 
light,  near  the  ceiling.  Hewitt  had  meddled  with 
nothing — he  would  do  no  more  till  he  was  satisfied 
of  the  bond  fides  of  his  client ;  certainly  he  would 


3*  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

not  commit  himself  to  breaking  open  desks  or  cup- 
boards. And  so,  the  time  for  my  attendance  at  the 
office  approaching — I  was  working  on  the  Morning 
Phctnix  then,  and  ten  at  night  saw  my  work  begin-— 
we  shut  Denson's  office,  and  went  away. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  AFFAIR  OF  SAMUEl/s  DIAMONDS    (CONTINUED) 

IN  the  morning  I  was  awakened  by  an  impatient 
knocking  at  my  bedroom  door.  Going  to  bed  at 
two  or  three  I  was  naturally  a*  late  riser,  and  this 
was  about  nine.  1  scrambled  sleepily  out  of  bed, 
and  turned  the  key.  Hewitt  was  standing  in  my 
sitting-room,  with  a  newspaper  in  his  hand. 

"  Sorry  to  break  your  morning  sleep,  Brett,"  he 
said,  "  but  something  interesting  has  happened  in 
regard  to  that  business  you  helped  me  with  yesterday, 
and  you  may  like  to  know.  Crawl  back  into  bed  if 
you  like." 

But  I  was  already  in  my  dressing-gown,  and 
groping  for  my  clothes.  "No,  no,  come  in  and 
tell  me,"  I  said.     "  What  is  it  ?  " 

Hewitt  sat  on  the  bed.  "  I'll  tell  you  in  due 
order/'  he  said.  u  First,  I  saw  Samuel  again  last 
night — after  you  had  gone  away.  You  remember 
I  went  back  to  my  office  ;  1  had  a  letter  or  two  to 
write  which  I  had  set  aside  in  the  afternoon.  Well, 
I  wrote   the   letters,  shut   up,  and  went  downstair* 

c 


34  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

I  opened  the  outer  door,  and  there  was  Samuel,  in 
the  act  of  ringing  the  housekeeper's  bell.  He  said 
he  was  very  anxious,  and  couldn't  sleep  without 
coming  to  hear  if  I  had  made  any  progress  ;  he  had 
called  before,  but  I  was  out.  I  half  thought  of 
taking  him  back  to  my  office,  but  decided  that  it 
wasn't  worth  while.  So  I  walked  along  to  the 
corner  of  the  Strand,  till  I  got  him  well  under  the 
lights.  Then  I  stopped  and  talked  to  him.  '  You 
ask  about  the  progress  in  your  case,  Mr.  Samuel,'  I 
said.  J  'Now,  I  have  sometimes  met  people  who 
seem  to  consider  me  a  sort  of  prophet,  seer,  or 
diviner.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  am  nothing  but  a 
professional  investigator,  and  even  if  I  were  possessed 
of  such  an  amazing  genius  as  I  lay  no  claim  to,  I 
could  never  succeed  in  a  case,  nor  even  make  pro- 
gress in  it,  if  my  client  started  me  with  false  in- 
formation, or  only  told  me  half  the  truth.  More, 
when  I  find  that  such  is  the  state  of  affairs,  and  that 
if  I  am  to  succeed  I  must  begin  by  investigating  my 
client  before  I  proceed  with  his  case,  I  throw  that 
case  up  on  the  instant — invariably.  Do  you  under- 
stand that  ?  Now  I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  made 
no  progress  with  your  case,  none ;  for  that  very 
reason.' " 

u  He  protested,  of  course — vowed  he  had  told  me 
the  simple  truth,  and  so  forth.     I  replied  by  asking 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  35 

him  certain  definite  questions.  First,  I  asked  him 
whose  the  diamonds  were.  He  repeated  that  they 
were  his  own.  To  that  I  simply  replied,  'Good 
evening,  Mr.  Samuel/  and  turned  away.  He  came 
after  me  beseechingly,  and  prevaricated.  He  said 
something  about  another  party  having  an  interest, 
but  the  matter  being  confidential.  To  that  I  re- 
sponded by  asking  him  with  whom  he  had  commu- 
nicated before  sending  for  me,  and  who  was  the 
person  in  the  brougham  which  he  had  twice  entered. 
That  flabbergasted  him.  He  said  that  he  couldn't 
answer  those  questions  without  bringing  other 
parties  into  the  matter,  to  which  I  answered  that  it 
was  just  those  other  parties  that  I  meant  to  know 
about,  if  I  were  to  move  a  step  in  the  matter.  At 
this  he  got  into  a  sad  state — imploring,  actually 
imploring,  me  not  to  desert  him.  He  said  he 
should  do  something  desperate — something  terrible 
— that  night  if  I  didn't  relieve  his  mind,  and  under- 
take the  case.  What  he  meant  he'd  do  I  didn't 
know,  of  course,  but  it  didn't  move  me.  I  said 
finally  that  I  would  deal  only  with  principals,  and 
that  until  I  had  the  personal  instructions  of  the 
actual  owner  of  the  diamonds,  in  addition  to  a 
complete  explanation  of  the  brougham  incident,  I 
should  do  nothing,  and  I  recommended  him  to  go 
to  the  police ;  and  with  that  I  left  him." 


36  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

11  And  you  got  nothing  more  from  him  than 
that?" 

"  Nothing  more ;  but  it  was  something,  you  see. 
He  admitted,  to  all  intents,  that  the  diamonds  were 
not  his  own.  And  now  see  here.  I  suppose  I  left 
him  about  ten  o'clock.  Here  is  a  paragraph  in  one 
of  this  morning's  newspapers.  It  is  only  in  the  one 
paper  ;  the  matter  seems  to  have  occurred  rather 
late  for  press." 

Hewitt  gave  me  the  paper  in  his  hand,  pointing  to 
the  following  paragraph  : 

44  Horrible  Discovery.— A  shocking  discovery 
was  made  just  before  midnight  last  night,  near  the 
York  column,  where  a  police-constable  found  the 
dead  body  of  a  man  lying  on  the  stone  steps.  The 
body,  which  was  fully  clothed  in  the  ordinary  dress 
of  a  labouring  man,  bore  plain  marks  of  strangula- 
tion, and  it  was  evident  that  a  brutal  murder  had 
been  committed.  A  singular  circumstance  was  the 
presence  of  a  curious  reddish  mark  upon  the  fore- 
head, at  first  taken  for  a  wound,  but  soon  discovered 
to  be  a  mark  apparently  drawn  or  impressed  on 
the  skin.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press,  no  arrest 
had  been  made,  and  so  far  the  affair  appears  a 
mystery." 

u Well,"   I    said,   "this  certainly  seems  curious, 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  37 

especially  in  the  matter  of  the  mark  on  the  forehead. 
But  what  has  it  all  to  do " 

"To  do  with  Samuel  and  his  diamonds,  you 
mean  ?  I'll  tell  you.  That  dead  man  is  Ben- 
son I n 

44  Denson  ?  "  I  exclaimed.     *  Den  son  ?     How  ?" 

44 1  get  it  from  the  housekeeper  next  door.  It 
seems  that  when  the  police  came  to  examine  the 
body  they  found,  among  other  things — money  and 
a  watch,  and  the  like — a  piece  of  an  addressed 
envelope,  used  to  hold  a  few  pins — the  pins  stuck 
in  and  the  paper  rolled  up,  you  know.  There  was 
just  enough  of  it  to  guess  the  address  by — that  of 
the  office  next  door;  and  it  was  the  only  clue 
they  had.  So  they  came  along  here  at  once 
and  knocked  up  the  housekeeper.  He  went  with 
them  and  instantly  recognised  Denson,  disguised 
in  labourer's  clothes,  but  Denson,  he  says,  unmis- 
takably." 

44  And  the  mark  on  the  forehead  f  " 

"That  is  very  odd.  It  is  an  outlined  triangle, 
rather  less  than  an  inch  along  each  side.  It  is 
quite  red,  he  says,  and  seems  to  be  done  in  a  greasy, 
sticky  sort  of  ink  or  colour." 

44  Was  anything  found — the  diamonds  ?  * 

"No.  He  says  there  was  money — two  or  three 
five-pound  notes,  I  believe,  some  small  change,  a 


38  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

watch,  keys  and  so  forth  ;  but  there's  not  a  word  of 
diamonds." 

I  paused  in  my  dressing.  M  Does  that  mean  that 
the  murderer  has  got  them?"  I  asked.  Hewitt 
pursed  his  lips  and  shook  his  head.  "  It  may  mean 
that,"  he  said,  "  but  does  it  look  altogether  like  it 
when  five-pound  notes  are  left  ?  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  the  disguise  ;  the  only  reason  that  we 
know  of  for  that  would  be  that  he  was  bolting  with 
the  diamonds.  But  the  really  puzzling  thing  is  the 
mark  on  the  forehead.  Why  that  ?  Of  course,  the 
picturesque  and  romantic  thing  to  suppose  is  that 
it  is  the  mark  of  some  criminal  club  or  society. 
But  criminal  associations,  such  as  exist,  don't  do 
silly  things  like  that.  When  criminals  rob  and 
murder,  they  don't  go  leaving  their  tracks  behind 
them  purposely — they  leave  nothing  that  could 
possibly  draw  attention  to  them  if  they  can  help  it ; 
also,  they  don't  leave  five-pound  notes.  But  I'm 
off  to  have  a  look  at  that  mark.  Inspector  Plummer 
is  in  charge  of  the  case — you  remember  Plummer, 
don't  you,  in  the  Stanway  Cameo  case,  and  two  or 
three  others  ?  Well,  Plummer  is  an  old  friend  of 
mine,  and  not  only  am  I  interested  in  this  matter 
myself,  but  now  that  it  becomes  a  case  of  murder, 
I  must  tell  the  police  all  I  know,  merely  as  a 
loyai  citizen.     I've  an   idea  they  will  want  to  ask 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  39 

our  friend  Mr.  Samuel  some  very  serious  ques- 
tions." 

"  Will  you  go  now  ?" 

44  Yes,  I  must  waste  no  more  time.  You  get  your 
breakfast  and  look  out  for  me,  or  for  a  message." 

Hewitt  was  off  to  Vine  Street,  and  I  devoted 
myself  to  my  toilet  and  my  breakfast,  vastly 
mystified  by  this  tragic  turn  in  a  matter  already 
puzzling  enough. 

It  was  not  a  messenger,  but  Hewitt  himself,  who 
came  back  in  less  than  an  hour.  "  Come/'  he  said, 
44  Plummer  is  below,  and  we  are  going  next  door,  to 
Denson's  office.  I've  an  idea  that  we  may  get  at 
something  at  last  The  police  are  after  Samuel 
hot-foot.  They  think  he  should  be  made  sure  of  in 
any  case  without  delay ;  and  I  must  say  they  have 
some  reason,  on  the  face  of  it." 

We  joined  Plummer  at  once — I  have  already 
spoken  of  Plummer  in  my  accounts  of  several  of 
Hewitt's  cases  in  which  I  met  him — and  we  all 
turned  into  the  office  next  door.  There  we  found 
a  very  frightened  and  bewildered  office  boy,  whom 
Denson  had  given  a  holiday  yesterday,  after  sending 
him  down  to  Samuel.  He  had  come  to  his  work 
as  usual,  only  to  meet  the  housekeeper's  tale  of  the 
murder  of  his  master  and  the  end  of  his  business 


4o  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

prospects.  He  had  little  or  no  information  to 
impart.  He  had  only  been  employed  for  a  month 
or  six  weeks,  and  during  that  time  his  work  had 
been  practically  nothing. 

Plummer  nodded  at  this  information,  and  sniffed 
comprehensively  at  the  office  furniture.  "  I  know 
this  sort  o'  stuff,"  he  said.  "  This  is  the  way  they 
fit  up  long  firm  offices  and  such.  This  place  was 
taken  for  the  job,  that's  plain,  by  one  or  both 
of  'em." 

The  boy's  address  was  taken,  and  he  was  given  a 
final  holiday,  and  asked  to  send  up  the  housekeeper 
as  he  went  out.  Plummer  passed  Hewitt  a  bunch 
of  keys. 

The  housekeeper  entered.  "Now,  Hutt,"  said 
Martin  Hewitt,  "  you  were  saying  yesterday,  I  think, 
that  the  main  front  door  was  the  only  entrance  and 
exit  for  this  building  ?  " 

u  That's  so,  sir — the  only  one  as  anybody  can  use, 
except  me." 

"  Oh  I  then  there  is  another,  then  ?  * 

■  Well,  not  exactly  to  say  an  entrance,  sir.  There's 
a  small  private  door  at  the  back  into  the  court 
behind,  but  that's  only  opened  to  take  in  coals  and 
such,  and  I  always  have  the  key.  This  house  isn't 
like  yours,  sir  ;  you  have  no  back  way  into  the  court 
as  we  have.     If  s  a  convenience,  sometimes." 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  41 

u  Ah,  I've  no  doubt.  Do  you  happen  to  have  the 
key  with  you  ?  " 

"  It's  on  the  bunch  hanging  up  in  my  box,  sir. 
Shall  I  fetch  it  ?  " 

u  I  should  like  to  see  it,  if  you  will." 

The  housekeeper  disappeared,  and  presently  re- 
turned with  a  large  bunch  of  keys. 

"  This  is  the  one,  Mr.  Hewitt/'  he  explained,  lift- 
ing it  from  among  the  rest. 

Hewitt  examined  it  closely,  and  then  placed  beside 
it  one  from  the  bunch  Plummer  had  given  him.  "  It 
seems  you're  not  the  only  person  who  ever  had  a 
key  exactly  like  that,  Hurt,"  he  said.  "  See  here — 
this  was  found  in  Mr.  Denson's  pocket." 

Plummer  nodded  sagaciously.  "  All  in  the  plant," 
he  said.  "  See — it's  brand  new  ;  clean  as  a  new  pin, 
and  file  marks  still  on  it." 

"  Take  us  to  this  back  door,  Hutt,"  Hewitt  pur- 
sued. u  We'll  try  this  key.  Is  there  a  back  stair- 
case?" 

There  was  a  small  back  staircase,  leading  to  the 
coal-cellars,  and  only  used  by  servants.  Down  this 
we  all  went,  and  on  a  lower  landing  we  stopped 
before  a  small  door.  Hewitt  slipped  the  key  in  the 
lock  and  turned  it  The  door  opened  easily,  and 
there  before  us  was  the  little  courtyard  which  I 
think  I  have  mentioned  in  one  of  my  other  narra- 


42  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

tives — the  courtyard  with  a  narrow  passage  leading 
into  t}ie  next  street. 

Martin  Hewitt  seemed  singularly  excited.  "  Set 
there/'  he  said,  "  that  is  how  Denson  left  the  build- 
ing without  passing  the  housekeeper's  box  !  And 
now  I'm  going  to  make  another  shot.  See  here. 
This  key  on  Denson's  bunch  attracted  my  attention 
because  of  its  noticeable  newness  compared  with 
most  of  the  others.  Most  of  the  others,  I  say,  be- 
cause there  is  one  other  just  as  bright — see  1  This 
small  one.  Now,  Hutt,  do  you  happen  to  have  a 
key  like  that  also  ?  " 

Hutt  turned  the  key  over  in  his  hand  and  glanced 
from  it  to  his  own  bunch.  "Why,  yes,  sir  !"  he 
said  presently.  u  Yes,  sir  !  It's  the  same  as  the  ke> 
of  the  fire-hose  cupboards  1  * 

"Does  that  key  fit  them  all?  How  many  fire- 
hose cupboards  are  there  ?  " 

"  Two  on  each  floor,  sir,  one  at  each  end,  just 
against  the  mains.    And  one  key  fits  the  lot." 

"  Show  us  the  nearest  to  this  door." 

A  short,  narrow  passage  led  to  the  main  ground- 
floor  corridor,  where  a  cupboard  lettered  "  Fire 
Hose "  stood  next  the  main  and  its  fittings.  u  We 
have  to  keep  the  hose-cupboards  locked,"  the  house- 
keeper explained  apologetically,  "'cause  •'  mis- 
chievous  boys  in  the  offices." 


SAMUEL'S   DIAMONDS  43 

This  key  fitted  as  well  as  the  other.  A  long  coil 
of  brown  leather  hose  hung  within,  and  in  a  corner 
lay  a  piece  of  chamois  leather  evidently  used  for 
polishing  the  brass  fittings.  This  Hewitt  pulled 
aside,  and  there  beneath  it  lay  another  and  cleaner 
piece  of  chamois  leather,  neatly  folded  and  tied 
round  with  cord.  Hewitt  snatched  it  up.  He  un- 
fastened the  cord  ;  he  unrolled  the  leather,  which 
was  sewn  into  a  sort  of  bag  or  satchel ;  and  when 
at  last  he  spread  wide  the  mouth  of  this  satchel, 
light  seemed  to  spring  from  out  of  it,  for  there  lay 
a  glittering  heap  of  brilliants  ! 

"  What  1 "  cried  Plummer,  who  first  got  his  speech. 
"  Diamonds  1  Samuel's  diamonds  I " 

"  Diamonds,  at  any  rate,"  replied  Hewitt, 
"whether  Samuel's  or  somebody  else's.  But  they 
can't  have  been  there  long.  How  often  is  this  cup- 
board opened  ?  " 

m  Every  Saturday  reg'lar,  sir,"  replied  the  house- 
keeper ;  "  just  to  dust  it  out  and  see  things  is 
right." 

"  Now,  see  here  !  *  said  Martin  Hewitt,  "  I've  had 
luck  in  my  conjectures  as  yet,  and  I'll  try  again. 
Here  is  what  I  believe  has  happened  Every  word 
that  Samuel  told  me  about  the  theft  of  those 
diamonds  was  true,  except  as  to  their  ownership. 
Denson  has  planned  all  along  to  rob  him  of  as  big 


44  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

a  collection  of  diamonds  as  he  could  prompt  him  to 
get  together,  and  he  has  played  up  to  this  for 
months.  His  smaller  dealings  one  way  and  another 
were  ground-bait.  Very  artfully  he  let  Samuel  take 
the  diamonds  safely  away  once,  in  order  that  he 
should  be  less  watchful  and  less  suspicious  the 
second  time.  This  second  time  he  does  the  trick 
exactly  as  we  see.  He  hangs  up  the  imaginary 
American's  hat,  he  escapes  by  the  fanlight,  and  he 
goes  out  by  the  back  way  to  avoid  the  housekeeper's 
observation.  He  has  arranged  beforehand  for  this, 
too.  He  has  seized  an  opportunity  when  the  house- 
keeper has  been  out  of  his  box  to  get  wax  impres- 
sions of  these  two  keys,  and  he  has  made  copies  of 
them.  And  here  we  come  on  a  curious  thing.  It 
is  easy  enough  to  understand  why  he  should  foresee 
and  get  himself  a  key  for  the  back  door,  in  order  to 
make  his  escape.  But  why  the  key  of  the  hose- 
cupboard  ?  Why,  indeed,  should  he  leave  the 
diamonds  behind  him  at  all  ?  It  is  plain  that  he 
meant  to  come  back  for  them — probably  at  night. 
He  would  have  been  wholly  free  from  observation 
in  that  quiet  courtyard,  and  he  could  let  himself  in, 
get  the  diamonds,  and  leave  again  without  exciting 
the  smallest  alarm  or  suspicion.  But  why  take  all 
the  trouble  ?  Why  not  stick  to  the  plunder  from 
the  beginning?     The   plain    inference   i*   that   he 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  45 

feared  somebody  or  something.  He  feared  being 
stopped  and  searched,  or  he  feared  being  waylaid 
sometime  during  yesterday.  By  whom  ?  There's  the 
puzzle,  and  I  can't  see  the  bottom  of  it,  I  confess. 
If  I  could,  perhaps  I  might  know  something  of  last 
night's  murder. 

*  As  to  Samuel's  prevarications,  there  is  only  one 
explanation  that  will  fit,  now  that  the  rest  is  made 
clear.  He  must  have  been  entrusted  with  these 
diamonds  by  a  private  owner,  for  sale — secretly. 
Some  lady  of  conspicuous  position  in  difficulties, 
probably — perhaps  unknown  to  her  husband.  Such 
things  occur  every  day.  A  common  expedient  is  to 
sell  the  stones  and  have  good  paste  substituted,  in 
the  same  settings.  Samuel  would  be  just  the  man 
to  carry  through  a  transaction  of  that  sort.  That 
would  account  for  everything.  The  jewels  are  en 
suite,  cut,  but  unset — taken  from  a  set  of  jewellery, 
and  paste  substituted.  Samuel  arranges  it  all  for 
the  lady,  finds  a  customer — Denson — who  treats 
him  exactly  as  he  has  told  us.  When  he  realises  the 
loss  Samuel  doesn't  know  what  to  do.  He  mustn't 
call  the  police,  being  bound  to  secrecy  on  the  lady's 
behalf.  He  sends  her  a  hasty  message,  and  remains 
keeping  watch  by  Denson's  office.  She  hurries  to 
him  with  all  possible  secrecy,  keeping  her  carriage 
blinds    down ;    he   dashes   into   the    brougham   to 


46  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

describe  the  disaster,  taking  his  case  with  him  in  his 
frantic  desire  to  explain  things  fully.  The  lady  fears 
publicity,  and  won't  hear  of  the  police — she  instructs 
him  to  consult  me  :  and  consequently,  of  course, 
when  I  recommend  communicating  with  the  police 
he  won't  listen  to  the  suggestion.  Samuel  has 
arranged  with  the  lady  to  hurry  off  and  report  pro- 
gress as  soon  as  he  has  consulted  me,  and  this  he 
does,  the  lady  having  appointed  Manchester  Square 
foi  the  interview.  Perhaps  she  hints  some  suspicion 
of  Samuel's  honesty — rather  natural,  perhaps,  in  the 
circumstances.  That  terrifies  him  more  than  ever, 
and  leads  to  his  frantic  appeals  to  me  when  1  throw 
the  case  up.  Come,  there's  my  guess  at  the  facts  of 
the  case,  and  I'll  back  it  with  twopence  and  a  bit 
more.     Eh,  Plummer  ?  " 

"  I  don't  take  vour  bet,"  answered  Plummer. 
"  The  thing's  plain  enough  ;  except  the  murder. 
There's  something  deeper  there." 

Hewitt  became  grave.  "  That's  true,"  he  said, 
"'  and  something  I  can  see  no  way  into,  as  yet.  .  But 
come — you  take  this  parcel  of  diamonds,  as  repre- 
senting the  law.  And  here  comes  one  of  your  men, 
I  ihink." 

We  had  been  approaching  the  front  door  during 
this  talk,  and  now  a  police  constable  appeared,  and 
saluted  Plummer.     "  Samuel's  just  been  brought  in, 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  47 

sir,"  he  reported.    u  He's  half  dead  with  fright,  and 

he's  sent  a  message  to  Lady  H in  P Square ; 

and  he  says  he  wants  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  to  come 
and  speak  for  him." 

"Poor  Samuel!"  Hewitt  commented.  "Come, 
we'll  go  and  make  him  happy.  Here  are  the 
diamonds,  and,  thost  safely  accounted  for,  there's 
no  evidence  to  connect  him  with  the  murder. 
We'll  get  him  out  of  the  mess  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble." 

And  so  they  did.  Hewitt's  reading  of  the  case  was 
correct  to  a  tittle,  as  it  turned  out,  and  with  very 
little  delay  Samuel  was  released.  But  with  the 
message  from  the  police  station,  the  fat  was  in  the 
fire  as  regarded  Lady  H .  Her  husband  neces- 
sarily became  acquainted  with  everything,  and  there 
was  serious  domestic  trouble. 

Samuel  was  glad  enough  to  get  quit  of  the  busi- 
ness with  no  worse  than  a  bad  fright,  as  may  well 
be  supposed.  He  showed  himself  most  grateful  to 
Hewitt  in  after  times,  giving  him  excellent  confiden- 
tial advice  and  information  more  than  once  in 
matters  connected  with  the  diamond  trade.  He  is 
still  in  business,  I  believe,  in  a  much  larger  way,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  he  is  the  wiser  for  his  experience, 
and  for  the  lesson  which  Hewitt  did  not  forget  to 
rub  well  in  :  that  it  is  useless  and  worse  to  place  a 


4t  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

confidential  matter  in  the  hands  of  a  man  of  Hewitfs 
profession,  and  at  the  same  time  withhold  particulars 
of  the  case,  however  unessential  they  may  appear 
to  be. 

But  meantime,  on  the  way  to  Vine  Street  I  asked 
Hewitt  what  led  him  to  suppose  that  the  new  key  on 
Denson's  bunch  fitted  a  lock  in  that  particular  office 
building. 

"Call  it  a  lucky  guess,  if  you  like,"  Hewitt 
answered ;  "  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  prompted 
by  pure  common  sense.  Plummer  showed  me  the 
things  found  on  the  body,  and  I  saw  at  once  that 
the  keys  offered  the  only  chance  of  immediate 
information.  I  went  through  them  one  by  one* 
There  was  his  latch-key — the  key  with  which  he  had 
gone  into  his  lodgings  to  fetch  away  the  disguise. 
There  was  another  largish  key,  equally  old — pro- 
bably the  key  of  his  office  door.  There  were  other 
smaller  keys,  also  old — plainly  belonging  to  bags  and 
trunks  and  drawers  and  so  forth.  And  then  there 
was  the  large,  perfectly  new  key.  What  was  that  ? 
It  was  not  the  key  of  any  bag  or  drawer,  clearly — it 
was  the  key  of  a  door — a  door  with  a  lever  lock. 
What  door  ?  Had  Denson  some  other  office  ? 
Perhaps  he  had,  but  first  it  was  best  to  begin  by 
trying  it  on  places  we  were  already  acquainted  with. 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  49 

At  once  I  thought  of  Denson's  disappearance  un- 
observed by  the  housekeeper.  Could  this  be  the 
key  of  'some  private  exit  from  the  office  building  ? 
I  resolved  to  test  that  conjecture  first,  and  it  turned 
out  to  be  the  right  one.  Being  successful  so  far,  of 
course  I  turned  to  the  other  new  key  and  tried  that, 
as  you  saw." 

u  But  what  of  that  triangular  mark  on  the  man's 
forehead  7" 

Martin  Hewitt  became  deeply  thoughtful.  "  That,'* 
he  said,  u  is  a  matter  wholly  beyond  me  at  present, 
as  indeed  is  the  whole  business  of  the  murder. 
Whether  we  shall  ever  know  more  I  can't  guess,  but 
the  matter  is  deep — deep  and  difficult  and  dark.  As 
to  the  mark  itself,  that  seems  to  have  been  impressed 
from  an  engraved  stamp  of  some  sort.  It  is  a  plain 
equilateral  triangle  in  red  outline,  measuring  about 
an  inch  on  each  side.  It  is  in  a  greasy,  sticky  sort 
of  red  ink,  which  may  be  smeared,  but  is  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  rub  away.  What  it 
means  I  can't  at  present  conjecture.  I  have  told 
you  my  reasons  for  not  thinking  it  the  sign  of  any 
gang  of  criminals.  But  whose  sign  is  it  ?  Surely 
not  that  of  some  self-constituted  punisher  of  crime  ? 
For  such  a  person,  with  no  risk  to  himself,  could 
have  handed  Denson  over  to  the  police,  if  he  knew 
of  his  offence.     Can  he  have  been  murdered  by  an 


50  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

accomplice  ?  But  he  used  no  accomplice ;  if  one 
thing  is  plain  in  all  that  story  of  the  stolen  diamonds 
it  is  that  Denson  did  the  thing  wholly  by  himself. 
Besides,  an  accomplice  would  have  taken  the  keys 
and  have  gone  and  secured  the  diamonds  for  him- 
self ;  else  why  the  murder  at  all  ?  But  no  keys 
were  taken — nothing  was  taken,  as  far  as  we  can  tell. 
And  why  was  the  body  placed  in  that  conspicuous 
position  ?  It  is  pretty  certain  that  the  crime  cannot 
have  happened  where  the  body  was  found — some- 
body must  have  heard  or  seen  a  struggle  in  such  a 
place  as  that.  As  it  is,  I  should  say,  the  body  was 
probably  brought  quietly  to  the  spot  in  a  cab,  or 
some  such  conveyance. 

M  But  mystery  envelops  this  crime  everywhere. 
So  far  as  I  can  see,  there  is  no  clue  whatever  beyond 
the  Red  Triangle,  which,  as  yet,  I  cannot  under- 
stand. The  strangling  points  to  the  murder  being 
committed  by  a  powerful  man,  certainly,  and  it  is  a 
form  of  crime  that  may  have  been  perpetrated 
silently.  But  beyond  that  I  can  see  nothing.  The 
apparent  motivelessness  of  the  thing  makes  the 
mystery  all  the  darker,  and  the  circumstances  we  are 
acquainted  with,  instead  of  helping  us,  seem  to 
complicate  the  puzzle. 

"  What  was  it  that  Denson  feared  when  he  left 
those  diamonds  behind  him,  when  he  might  have 


SAMUEL'S  DIAMONDS  51 

carried  them  away  ?  And  why  should  he  fear  it  in 
daytime  and  not  at  night,  since  it  would  seem  plain 
that  he  meant  to  have  returned  for  the  stones  at 
night  ?  Where  did  he  go  to  disguise  himself 
yesterday — we  know  it  was  not  in  his  lodgings 
— and  where  has  he  left  the  clothes  he  dis- 
carded?" 

All  these  doubts  and  mysteries  were  destined  to 
be  cleared  up,  in  more  or  less  degree  ;  but  it  was 
not  till  Hewitt  and  I  had  witnessed  other  singular 
adventures  that  the  answer  came  to  the  problem, 
the  real  meaning  of  the  Red  Triangle  was  made 
apparent,  and  its  connection  with  the  theft  of 
Samuel's  diamonds  grew  clear.  For  indeed  the 
connection  proved  in  the  end  to  be  very  intimate 
indeed.  Once,  a  little  later,  we  were  allowed  to 
see  a  shade  farther  into  the  mystery,  as  I  shall 
tell  in  the  proper  place ;  but  even  then  the  real 
secret  remained  hidden  from  us  till  the  appointed 
end. 

So  ended  the  case  of  Samuel's  diamonds,  so  far  as 
concerned  Samuel  himself  and  the  owner ;  but  the 
case  of  the  Red  Triangle  had  only  begun. 


THE  CASE  OF  MR.  JACOB   MASON 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE   CASE   OF    MR.    JACOB   MASON 

The  mystery  of  Den  son's  death  remained  a  mystery, 
despite  all  the  police  could  do.  The  coroner's  jury 
returned  a  verdict  of  "  Murder  by  some  person  or 
persons  unknown" — which,  indeed,  was  all  that 
could  be  expected  of  them  ;  for  they  had  no  more 
before  them  than  the  bare  fact  that  the  body, 
disguised  in  the  clothes  of  a  labourer,  had  been 
found  on  the  steps  near  the  Duke  of  York's 
column,  just  before  midnight,  by  a  police  constable. 
But  for  the  housekeeper's  identification,  even  the 
name  of  the  victim  would  have  been  unknown. 
The  jury  certainly  wasted  some  time  in  idle  specu- 
lation as  to  the  strange  triangular  mark  found  on 
the  forehead,  without  a  speck  of  evidence  to  help 
them  ;  but  in  the  end  they  returned  their  verdict, 
and  went  home. 

But  the  police  knew  a  little  more  than  the  jury, 
though  that  little  rather  confused  than  helped  them. 
They  exercised  their  judgment  at  the  inquest  in 
withholding  all  evidence  of  the  theft  of   diamonds 


j6  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

on  which  the  victim  had  been  engaged,  the  curious 
particulars  of  which  I  have  already  related.  In  this 
they  followed  their  usual  course  in  cases  where  the 
evidence  withheld  could  give  the  jury  no  help  in 
arriving  at  their  verdict,  and  at  the  same  time  might 
easily  hamper  further  investigations  if  revealed.  For 
the  theft  had  been  frustrated  by  Martin  Hewitt's 
exertions,  as  we  have  seen,  and  in  any  case  the  thief 
was  now  dead  and  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
punishment.  The  one  matter  now  remaining  for  the 
police  was  inquiry  into  the  murder  of  this  same 
thief,  and  the  one  object  of  their  exertions  the 
apprehension  of  the  murderer  or  murderers. 

The  case,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  in  the  hands 
of  Inspector  Plummer,  an  intelligent  officer  and 
an  old  friend  of  Hewitt's.  A  few  days'  work  after 
the  inquest  yielded  Plummer  so  little  result  that  he 
called  at  Hewitt's  office  to  talk  matters  over. 

"  I  suppose,"  Plummer  began,  "  it's  no  use  asking 
if  you've  heard  anything  more  of  that  matter  of 
Denson's  murder  ?  " 

Hewitt  shook  his  head.  *  I  haven't  heard  a 
word,"  he  said.  "  If  I  had,  it  would  have  come  on 
to  you  at  once.  But  I  hope  you've  had  some  luck 
yourself  ?  " 

"  Not  a  scrap ;  time  wasted  ;  and  the  few  off- 
chance  clues  I  tried  have  Jed  nowhere,  so  that  I'm 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  57 

where  I  was  at  the  start  The  thing  is  quite  the 
oddest  in  all  my  experience.  See  how  we  stand. 
Here's  a  man,  Denson,  who  has  just  pulled  off  one 
of  the  cleverest  jewel  robberies*  ever  attempted. 
He  so  arranges  it  that  he  walks  safely  off  with 
fifteen  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  diamonds, 
leaving  the  victim,  Samuel,  stuck  patiently  in  an 
office  for  an  hour  or  two  before  he  even  begins  to 
suspect  anything  is  wrong,  and  then  unable  to  set 
the  police  after  him,  for  the  reasons  you  discovered. 
But  this  Denson  doesn't  carry  the  plunder  off 
straightway,  as  he  so  easily  might  have  done — he 
conceals  it  in  the  very  house  where  the  robbery 
was  committed,  taking  with  him  a  key  by  aid  of 
which  he  may  return  and  get  it.  Why  ?  As  you 
explained,  it  was  probably  because  he  feared  some- 
body— feared  being  stopped  and  searched  on  the 
day  of  the  robbery — not  after,  since  it  was  plain  he 
meant  to  return  for  his  booty  at  night.  Who  could 
this  have  been,  and  why  did  Denson  fear  him  ? 
Mystery  number  one.  Then  this  Denson  is  found 
dead  that  same  night  disguised  in  the  clothes  of  a 
labourer,  in  a  most  conspicuous  spot  in  London — 
the  last  place  in  the  world  one  would  expect  a 
murderer  to  select  for  depositing  his  victim's  body, 
for  it  is  evidently  not  the  place  where  the  murder 
was  committed.     More,  on  the  forehead  there  is  this 


5$  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

extraordinary  impressed  mark  of  a  Red  Triangle. 
Now,  what  can  all  that  mean  ?  Robbery,  perhaps 
one  thinks.  But  the  body  isn't  robbed  1  There  are 
three  five-pound  notes  on  it,  besides  a  sovereign  or 
two  and  some  small  change,  a  watch  and  chain,  keys 
and  all  the  rest  of  it.  Then  one  guesses  at  the 
diamonds.  Perhaps  it  was  an  accomplice  in  the 
robbery,  who  finds  that  Denson  is  about  to  bolt  with 
the  whole  lot.  But  if  there's  one  thing  plain  in  this 
amazing  business  it  is  that  Denson  had  no  accom- 
plice ;  he  did  the  whole  thing  alone,  as  you  dis- 
covered, and  he  needed  no  help.  More  than  that, 
if  this  were  the  work  of  an  accomplice  why  didn't 
he  get  the  jewels  ?  There  were  the  keys  to  his 
hand  and  he  left  them  !  And  would  such  a 
person  actually  go  out  of  his  way  to  put  the  body 
where  it  must  be  discovered  at  once,  instead  of 
concealing  it  till  he  could  himself  get  away  with  the 
diamonds  ?  Of  course  not.  But  there  was  no 
accomplice,  and  it's  useless  to  labour  that  farther. 
All  these  arguments  apply  equally  against  the  theory 
that  it  was  the  work  of  some  criminal  gang.  They 
would  have  taken  all  they  could  get,  notes,  keys, 
diamonds  and  all,  and  they  wouldn't  have  been  so 
foolish  as  to  exhibit  the  body  with  that  extraordinary 
mark ;  criminal  gangs  are  not  such  fools  as  to  take 
unnecessary  chances  and  gratuitously  leave  tracks 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  59 

behind  them,  as  you  know  well  enough.  Well  then, 
there  we  stand.  So  far,  do  you  sec  any  more  in  it 
than  I  do  ?  " 

Hewitt  shook  his  head.  "  No,"  he  said,  "  I  can't 
say  I  do.  All  the  considerations  you  have  mentioned 
have  already  occurred  to  me.  I  talked  them  over, 
in  fact,  with  my  friend  Brett.  My  connection  with 
the  case  ceased,  of  course,  with  the  discovery  of  the 
jewels,  and  about  the  murder  I  know  no  more  than 
has  been  told  me.  I  never  saw  the  body,  and  so 
had  no  opportunity  of  picking  up  any  overlooked 
clue ;  though  doubtless  you  have  seen  to  that.  I 
know  not  a  tittle  more  than  you  have  just  sum- 
marised, and  on  that  alone  the  thing  seems  mystery 
pure  and  unadulterated." 

11  All  there  is  beyond  that  was  ascertained  by  the 
divisional  surgeon  on  examination  of  the  body. 
The  man  died  from  strangulation,  as  you  know, 
and  the  natural  presumption  from  that  was  that 
the  murderer  must  have  been  a  powerful  man.  But 
the  surgeon  is  of  the  positive  opinion — he  is  certain, 
in  fact — that  Denson  was  strangled  with  an  instru- 
ment— a  tourniquet." 

**  A  tourniquet?" 

u  Yes,  a  surgeon's  tourniquet,  such  as  is  used  to 
compress  a  leg  or  arm  and  so  stop  a  flow  of  blood. 
He  considers  the  marks  unmistakable.     Now  that 


6o  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

might    point    to    the    murderer    being    a  medical 
man." 

"  Conjecturally,  yes  ;  though,  of  course,  it  justifies 
nothing  more  than  conjecture." 

"Precisely.  Well,  that  was  something,  but 
precious  little.  A  tourniquet  is  a  common  thing 
enough — no  more  than  a  band  with  screw  fittings, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  show  that  the  tourniquet 
used  was  any  different  from  a  thousand  others ;  and 
I  can  see  no  particular  reason  why  a  doctor  should 
commit  a  murder  like  this  any  more  than  any  other 
man  ;  in  which  the  divisional  surgeon  agreed  with 
me.  And  doctor  or  none,  that  Red  Triangle  was 
altogether  unaccounted  for.  About  that,  too,  by 
the  way,  the  divisional  surgeon  told  me  a  little,  but 
a  very  useless  little.  The  mark  was  not  properly 
dried,  owing  to  its  slightly  greasy  nature,  and 
although  it  was  almost  impossible  to  remove  it 
wholly,  it  was  possible  to  scrape  off  a  little  of  the 
ink,  or  colour.  Here  is  a  little  of  it  on  a  paper — 
quite  dried  now,  of  course." 

Plummer  carefully  took  from  his  pocket  a  small 
folded  paper,  unfolded  it,  and  revealed  a  smaller 
paper  within.  On  this  were  two  little  smears  of  a 
bright  red  colour.  "There — that's  the  stuff,"  he 
said.  "  The  surgeon  examined  it,  and  he  reports  it 
to  be  rather  oddly  constituted — so  as  to  bear  some 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  61 

affinity  of  meaning,  possibly,  to  the  triangle.  For 
the  stuff  is  a  compound  of  three  substances — 
animal,  vegetable  and  mineral  ;  there  is  a  fine  vege- 
table oil,  he  says,  some  waxy  preparation,  certainly 
of  animal  origin,  and  a  mineral — cinnabar :  vermilion, 
in  fact.  But  though  there  may  be  some  connection 
between  the  triangle  and  the  substances  repre- 
senting the  three  natural  kingdoms,  it  gives  nothing 
practical — nothing  to  go  on." 

Martin  Hewitt  had  been  closely  examining  the 
marks  on  the  paper,  and  now  he  answered,  "I'm 
not  so  sure  of  that,  though,  Plummer.  I  think  at 
least  that  it  gives  us  another  conjecture.  I  should 
guess  that  the  man  you  want,  as  well  as  being 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  the  tourniquet,  has  at 
some  time  travelled  in,  or  to,  China." 

"Why?" 

"  Unless  I  am  wider  of  the  mark  than  usual,  this 
is  the  pigment  used  on  Chinese  seals.  A  Chinaman's 
seal  acts  for  his  signature  on  all  sorts  of  documents ; 
it  is  impressed  or  printed  by  hand  pressure  from  a 
little  engraved  stone  die,  precisely  as  this  triangle 
seems  to  have  been,  and  the  ink  or  colour  is  almost 
always  red,  compounded  of  vermilion,  wax,  and  oil 
of  sesamum." 

Plummer  sat  up  with  a  whistle.  "  Phew  I  Then 
it  may  have  been  done  by  a  Chinaman  1" 


62  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Hewitt  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  It's  possible," 
he  said ;  "  of  course,  though,  the  sign,  the  triangle, 
is  not  a  Chinese  character.  As  a  character,  of 
course  it  is  the  Greek  Delta*  But  it  may  be  no 
character  at  all.  In  the  signs  of  the  ancient  Cabala, 
the  triangle,  apex  upward  as  it  was  in  this  case, 
was  the  symbol  of  fire  ;  apex  downward,  it  signified 
water." 

Plummer  patted  the  side  of  his  head  distractedly. 
44  Heavens  1"  he  said,  "don't  tell  me  I'm  to  search 
all  China,  and  Greece,  and — wherever  the  cabalistic 
pundits  come  from  1 " 

44  Well,  no,"  Hewitt  answered  with  a  smile.  u  I 
think  I  should,  at  any  rate,  begin  in  this  country 
I  rather  think  you  might  make  a  beginning  at 
Denson.  That  is  what  I  should  do  if  the  case  were 
mine.  See  if  anything  can  be  ascertained  of  his  pre- 
vious life — probably  under  another  name  or  names. 
He  may  have  been  in  China.  Yes,  certainly,  as  we 
stand  at  present,  I  should  begin  at  Denson." 

"  I  think  I  will,"  the  inspector  replied,  "  though 
there's  precious  little  to  begin  on  there.  I'd  like 
to  have  you  with  me  on  this  job,  but,  of  course, 
that's  impossible,  since  it's  purely  a  police  matter. 
But  something,  some  information,  may  come  your 
way,  and  in  that  case  you'll  let  me  know  at  once,  of 
course," 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  63 

"  Of  course  I  shall — it's  a  serious  matter,  as  well 
as  a  strange  one.     I  wish  you  all  luck  ! " 

Plummer  departed  to  grapple  with  his  difficulties, 
but  in  fact  it  was  Hewitt  who  first  heard  fresh  news 
of  the  Red  Triangle,  and  that  from  a  wholly 
unexpected  quarter. 

It  was,  indeed,  only  two  days  after  Plummer's 
visit  that  Kerrett  brought  into  Hewitt's  private  room 
the  card  of  the  Rev.  James  Potswood,  with  a  request 
for  a  consultation.  Mr.  Potswood's  name  was 
known  to  Hewitt,  as,  indeed,  it  was  to  many  people, 
as  that  of  a  most  devoted  clergyman,  rector  of  a 
large  parish  in  north-west  London,  who  devoted 
not  only  all  his  time  and  personal  strength  to  his 
work,  but  also  spent  every  penny  of  his  private 
income  on  his  parish.  It  was  not  a  small  income 
that  Mr.  Potswood  spent  in  this  unselfish  way,  for 
he  came  of  a  wealthy  family,  and  though  a  good 
part  of  his  parish  was  inhabited  by  well-to-do 
people,  there  was  quite  enough  poverty  and  distress 
in  the  poorei  quarters  to  cause  this  excellent  man 
often  to  regret  that  his  resources  were  not  even 
larger.  He  was  a  spare  active  grey- whiskered  man 
of  nearly  sixty,  with  prominent  and  not  very  hand- 
some features,  though  his  face  was  full  of  frank  and 
simple  kindliness. 

"  My  errand,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  he  said,  "  is  of  a  rather 


64  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

vague,  not  to  say  visionary,  character,  and  I  doubt  if 
you  can  help  me.  But  at  any  rate  I  will  explain  the 
trouble  as  well  as  I  can.  In  the  first  place,  am  I 
right  in  supposing  that  you  were  in  some  way 
professionally  engaged  in  connection  with  that 
extraordinary  case  of  murder  a  week  or  so  ago — the 
case  in  which  a  man  named  Denson  was  found  dead 
on  the  steps  by  the  Duke  of  York's  column  ?  " 

"  Yes — and  no,"  Hewitt  answered.  "  I  was 
professionally  engaged  on  a  certain  matter  about 
which  you  will  not  wish  me  to  particularise — since 
it  is  the  business  of  a  client — and  in  course  of  it 
I  came  upon  the  other  affair." 

"Then  before  I  ask  what  you  know  of  that 
mysterious  event,  Mr.  Hewitt,  I  will  tell  you  my 
story,  so  that  you  may  judge  whether  you  are  able 
to  reveal  anything,  or  to  do  anything.  Of  course, 
what  I  say  is  in  the  strictest  confidence." 

"  Of  course." 

"  I  have  a  parishioner,  a  Mr.  Jacob  Mason,  of 
whom  T  have  seen  very  little  of  late  years — scarcely 
anything  at  all,  in  fact,  till  a  few  days  ago.  He  is 
fairly  well  to  do,  I  believe,  living  a  somewhat  retired 
life  in  a  house  not  far  from  my  rectory.  For  many 
years  he  has  laboured  at  natural  science — chemistry 
in  particular — and  he  has  a  very  excellently  fitted 
laboratory  attached  to  his  house.     He  is  a  widower, 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  65 

with  no  children  of  his  own,  but  his  orphan  niece, 
a  Miss  Creswick,  lives  under  his  guardianship.  Mr. 
Mason  was  never  a  very  regular  church-goer,  but 
years  ago  I  saw  much  more  of  him  than  I  have  of 
late.  I  must  be  perfectly  frank  with  you,  Mr. 
Hewitt,  if  you  are  to  help  me,  and  therefore  I  must 
tell  you  that  we  disagreed  on  points  of  religion,  in 
such  a  way  that  I  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  my 
former  regard  for  Mr.  Mason.  He  had  a  curiously 
fantastic  mind,  and  he  was  constantly  being  led  to 
tamper  with  things  that  I  think  are  best  left  alone — 
what  is  called  spiritualism,  for  instance,  and  that 
horrible  form  of  modern  superstition  which  we  hear 
whispers  of  at  times  from  the  Continent — the  alleged 
devil-propitiation  or  worship.  It  was  not  that  he 
did  anything  I  thought  morally  wrong,  you  under- 
stand— except  that  he  dabbled.  And  he  was  always 
running  after  some  new  thing — animal  magnetism, 
or  telepathy,  or  crystal-gazing,  or  theosophy,  or 
some  one  of  the  score  of  such  things  that  have  an 
attraction  for  a  mind  of  that  sort.  And  it  was  a 
characteristic  of  each  new  enthusiasm  with  him  that 
it  prompted  him  to  try  to  convert  me ;  and  that  in 
such  terms — terms  often  applied  to  the  doctrines 
of  that  religion  of  which  I  am  a  humble  minister 
— as  I  could  in  nowise  permit  in  my  presence. 
So  that  our  friendly  intercourse,  though  not  inter- 

■ 


66  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

rupted  by  any  definite  breaking  off,  fell  away  to 
almost  nothing.  For  which  reason  I  was  a  little 
surprised  to  receive  a  visit  from  Mr.  Mason  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  the  newspapers 
printed  the  report  of  the  finding  of  the  body  of 
Denson.  You  may  remember  that  only  one 
morning  paper  mentioned  the  matter,  and  that 
very  briefly  ;  but  there  were  full  reports  in  all  the 
evening  papers." 

"Yes,  the  discovery  was  made  very  late  the 
previous  night." 

"So  I  gathered.  Well,  I  was  told  that  Mr. 
Mason  had  been  shown  into  my  study,  and  there 
I  found  him.  He  was  in  an  extremely  nervous 
and  agitated  state,  and  he  had  an  evening  paper 
in  his  hand.  With  scarcely  a  preliminary  word  he 
burst  out,  '  Have  you  seen  this  in  the  paper  ? 
This — this  murder  ?  There — there's  the  report/ 
And  he  thrust  the  paper  into  my  hands. 

"  I  had  not  seen  or  heard  anything  of  the  matter, 
in  fact,  till  that  moment,  and  now  he  gave  me 
little  leisure  to  read  the  report.  He  walked 
up  and  down  the  room,  nervously  clasping  his 
hands,  sometimes  together,  sometimes  at  his 
sides,  sometimes  before  him,  shaking  his  head 
in  a  shuddering  sort  of  way,  and  bursting  out 
once  or  twice  as  though  the  words    were  uncon- 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  67 

trollable,  '  What  ought  I  to  do  ?  What  can  1 
do?' 

"  I  looked  up  from  the  paper,  and  he  went  on, 
4  Have  you  read  it  ?  It's  a  murder — a  horrid 
murder.  The  poor  wretched  fellow  was  trying  to 
escape,  but  he  couldn't.     It's  a  murder  ! ' 

m  *  It  certainly  seems  so/  I  said.  *  But  what — did 
you  know  this  man,  Denson  ? ' 

"  ■  No,  of  course  not,'  Mason  replied, '  but  there  it 
is,  plain  enough,  and  here's  another  paper  with  just 
the  same  report,  but  a  little  shorter.'  He  pulled  the 
second  paper  from  his  pocket.  *  I  got  what  different 
papers  I  could,  but  these  are  the  two  fullest.  It's 
plain  enough  it's  a  brutal  murder,  isn't  it  ?  And 
the  man  was  a  merchant,  or  an  agent,  or  something, 
in  Portsmouth  Street,  but  he  was  found  in  labourer's 
clothes — proof  that  he  feared  it  and  was  trying  to 
escape  it ;  but  he  couldn't — he  couldn't — no  I  nor 
anybody.     It's  awful,  awful  1 ' 

" '  But  I  don't  understand,'  I  said.  *  Won't  you 
sit  down  ? '  For  Mason  continued  to  pace  dis- 
tractedly about  the  room.  '  What  is  it  you  think 
this  unfortunate  man  was  trying  to  escape?  And 
what  am  I  to  do  in  the  matter  ? ' 

"He  stopped,  pressed  both  hands  to  his  head,  and 
seemed  to  control  himself  by  a  great  effort.  'You 
must  excuse  me,'  he  said.  '  I'm  a  bit  run  down  lately, 


68  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

and  my  nerves  are  all  wrong.  I'm  talking  rather 
wildly,  I'm  afraid.  I  really  hardly  know  why  I  came 
to  you,  except  that  I  haven't  a  soul  I  can  talk  to 
about — well,  about  anything,  scarcely/ 

"  He  took  a  chair,  and  sat  for  a  little  while 
with  his  head  forward  on  his  hand  and  his  eyes 
directed  towards  the  floor.  Then  he  said,  in  a  musing 
way,  rather  as  though  he  was  thinking  aloud  than 
talking  to  me,  '  You  were  right,  after  all,  Potswood, 
and  I  was  a  fool  to  disregard  your  warnings.  I 
oughtn't  to  have  dabbled — I  should  have  left  those 
things  alone.' 

"  I  said  nothing,  thinking  it  best  not  to  disturb 
him,  but  to  leave  him  free  to  say  what  he  wanted  to 
say  in  his  own  way.  He  remained  quiet  for  a 
minute  or  two  more,  arid  then  sat  up  with  an 
appearance  of  much  greater  composure.  'You 
mustn't  mind  me,  Potswood,'  he  said.  *  As  I've  told 
you,  I'm  in  a  bad  state  of  nerves,  and  at  best  I'm  an 
impulsive  sort  of  person,  as  you  know.  I  needn't 
have  bothered  you  like  this — I  came  rushing  round 
here  without  thinking,  and  if  the  house  had  been  a 
bit  farther  off  I  should  have  come  to  my  senses 
before  I  reached  you.  After  all,  there's  nothing 
so  much  to  disturb  one's-self  about,  and  this  man — 
this  Denson — may  very  well  have  deserved  his  fate. 
Don't  you  think  that  likely  ? ' 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  69 

"He  added  this  last  question  with  an  involuntary 
eagerness  that  scarcely  accorded  with  the  indifferent 
tone  with  which  he  had  begun.  I  answered 
guardedly.  I  said  of  course  nobody  could  say  what 
the  unhappy  man's  sins  might  have  been,  but  that 
whatever  they  were  they  could  never  justify  the  fear- 
ful sin  of  murder.  •  And/  I  added,  '  if  you  know 
anything  of  the  matter,  Mason,  or  have  the  smallest 
suspicion  as  to  who  is  the  guilty  person,  I'm  sure 
vou  won't  hesitate  in  your  duty.' 

"  \  My  duty  ? '  he  said.  i  Oh  yes,  of  course  ;  my 
duty.  You  mean,  of  course,  that  any  law-abiding 
citizen  who  knows  of  evidence  should  bring  it  out. 
Just  so.  Of  course  /  haven't  any  evidence— that 
paper  gave  me  the  first  news  of  the  thing.' 

"'I  think,'  I  rejoined,  'that  anybody  who  was 
possessed  of  even  less  than  evidence — of  any  sus- 
picion which  might  lead  to  evidence — should  go  at 
once  and  place  the  authorities  in  possession  of  all 
he  knows  or  suspects/ 

"'Yes,'  he  said — very  calmly  now,  though  it 
seemed  at  cost  of  a  great  effort — '  so  he  should ;  so 
he  should,  no  doubt,  in  any  ordinary  case.  But 
sometimes  there  are  difficulties,  you  know — great 
difficulties.'  He  stopped  and  looked  at  me  furtively 
and  uneasily.  '  A  man  might  fear  for  his  own  safety 
— he  might  even  know  that  to  say  what  he  knew 


70  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

would  be  to  condemn  himself  to  sudden  death  ;  and 
more,  perhaps,  more.  Suppose — it  might  be,  you 
know — suppose,  for  instance,  a  man  was  placed 
between  the  alternatives  of  neglecting  this  duty  and 
of  breaking  a — well  an  oath,  a  binding  oath  of  a 
very  serious — terrible — character  ?  An  oath,  we  will 
say,  made  previously,  without  any  foreknowledge  of 
the  crime  ? ' 

u  I  said  that  any  such  oath  taken  without  fore- 
knowledge of  the  crime  could  not  have  contemplated 
such  an  event,  and  that  however  wrong  the  taking 
of  such  an  oath  might  have  been  in  itself,  to  assist 
in  concealing  such  a  crime  as  this  murder  was  in- 
finitely worse — infinitely  worse  than  taking  the  oath, 
and  infinitely  worse  than  breaking  it.  Though  as  to 
the  latter,  I  repeated  that  any  such  engagement  made 
without  contemplation  or  foreknowledge  of  such  a 
crime  would  seem  to  be  void  in  that  respect.  I  went 
further — much  further.  I  conjured  him  to  make  no 
secret  of  anything  he  might  know,  and  not  to  burden 
his  conscience  with  complicity — for  that  was  what 
concealment  would  amount  to — in  such  a  terrible 
crime.  I  added  some  further  exhortations  which  I 
need  not  repeat  now,  and  presently  his  assumed 
calmness  departed  utterly,  and  he  became  even  more 
agitated  than  when  first  he  came.  He  would  say 
nothing  further,  however,  and  in  the  end  he  went 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  71 

away,  saying  he  would  '  think  over  the  matter  very 
seriously.' 

"  It  was  quite  plain  to  me  that  my  poor  friend  was 
suffering  acutely  from  the  burden  of  some  terrible 
secret,  and  that  in  his  impulsive  way  he  had  rushed 
to  confide  in  me  at  the  first  shock  of  the  news  of 
this  murder,  and  that  afterwards  his  courage  had 
failed  him.  But  I  conceived  it  my  duty  not  to  allow 
such  a  matter  to  stand  thus.  Therefore,  giving 
Mason  a  few  hours  for  calm  consideration,  I  called 
on  him  in  the  evening.  I  was  told  that  he  was  not 
very  well  and  had  gone  to  bed ;  he  had,  however, 
left  a  message,  in  case  I  should  call,  to  the  effect 
that  he  would  come  and  see  me  in  the  morning.  1 
waited  the  whole  of  that  next  morning  and  the  whole 
of  the  afternoon,  and  saw  nothing  of  him.  In  the 
evening  urgent  parish  work  took  me  away,  but  next 
morning  I  called  again  at  Mason's  house  and  saw 
him.  This  time  he  avoided  the  subject — tried  to 
dodge  it,  in  fact.  But  I  was  not  to  be  denied,  and 
the  result  was  another  scene  of  alternate  agitation 
and  forced  calmness.  I  will  not  weary  you,  Mr. 
Hewitt,  with  useless  repetition,  but  I  may  say  that 
I  have  seen  Mason  twice  since  then  without  bringing 
him  to  any  definite  resolve.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I 
believe  that  he  is  restrained  from  saying  anything 
further  by  fear — sheer  terror.     He  has  even  gone  so 


7a  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

far  as  to  deny  absolutely  that  he  knows  anything  of 
the  matter — and  then  has  contradicted  himself  a 
minute  afterwards.  At  last,  this  morning,  I  have 
brought  him  a  degree  further.  In  the  last  few  days 
I  made  it  my  business  to  acquaint  myself,  as  far  as 
possible,  with  the  exact  circumstances  of  the  tragedy, 
so  far  as  they  are  known,  and  in  course  of  my  in- 
quiries I  saw  the  housekeeper  of  the  offices  next 
door — the  man  who  identified  the  body  as  Denson's. 
He  either  could  not,  or  would  not,  tell  me  very 
much,  but  he  did  say  that  you  had  been  working  in 
some  way  in  connection  with  the  case,  and  that  you 
knew  as  much  of  it  as  anybody.  That  gave  me  an 
idea.  This  morning  I  told  Mason  that  not  only  he, 
but  I  also  had  a  duty  in  respect  to  this  matter,  and 
my  duty  was  to  see  that  nothing  in  connection  with 
such  a  crime  as  this  should  be  hushed  up  on  any  con- 
sideration or  for  anybody's  fancies.  I  said  that  if  he 
liked  he  need  tell  me  no  more,  but  might  take  you 
into  consultation  professionally,  as  your  client, 
allowing  me  first  to  see  you  and  to  assure  you  that, 
consistently  with  his  own  safety,  he  was  anxious  to 
further  the  ends  of  justice.  I  said  that,  as  your 
client,  your  first  duty  would  be  to  protect  him,  that 
your  professional  practice  would  keep  your  mouth 
absolutely  sealed,  and  that  you  already  knew  a 
good  deal  about  the  crime — perhaps  more  than  bm 


MR.   JACOB    MASON  73 

suspected.  I  protested  that  this  seemed  to  me  the 
very  least  he  could  do,  and  I  warned  him  that  if  he 
refused  to  do  even  this,  I  should  have  to  consider 
whether  it  was  consistent  with  my  character,  as  a 
clergyman  and  a  loyal  citizen,  any  longer  to  conceal 
the  fact  that  he  was  keeping  back  information  that 
might  lead  to  the  apprehension  of  the  murderer. 
This  frightened  him,  and  between  the  fear  of  the 
threat  and  the  fear  that  you  might  already  know 
more  than  he  suspected,  he  authorised  me — he  was 
even  eager  about  it — to  come  and  see  you  ;  always, 
of  course,  under  a  pledge  of  strict  professional 
secrecy." 

"So  far  your  account  is  quite  clear,  Mr.  Pots- 
wood,"  Hewitt  said.  "You  have  done  your  best, 
now  I  must  do  mine.  You  wish  me  to  see  Mason 
at  once,  no  doubt  ?  " 

"I  arranged  to  bring  you  to  his  house,  if  you 
were  willing  and  your  engagements  permitted,  at 
three  this  afternoon.  Will  that  do  ?  I  have  been 
keeping  you,  I  see — it  is  past  one  already.  Will 
you  lunch  with  me  at  my  club  ?  " 

"With  great  pleasure — more  especially  as  I 
have  a  few  questions  to  ask  as  we  go  along.  Is 
it  far?" 

"  Just  at  this  end  of  Pall  Mall — we  will  walk,  if 
you  like." 


74  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

"Tell  me  now,"  said  Hewitt  as  they  went,  "any- 
thing you  know  about  Mr.  Mason's  habits,  family 
connections,  and  so  forth,  as  fully  and  as  minutely 
as  you  please.  Has  he  any  friends  connected  with 
China,  for  instance  ?  " 

"  China  ?  Why,  no,  I  think  not ;  except — but 
I'll  tell  you  all  I  know.  Mr.  Mason  has  no  family 
connections,  so  far  as  I  am  aware — at  any  rate,  in 
London — except  his  niece,  Miss  Creswick.  She  is 
within  a  few  months  of  twenty-one,  a  charming  girl, 
but  horribly  shut  in,  for  Mason  has  almost  no 
visitors.  Miss  Creswick  was  his  sister's  daughter ; 
she  lost  her  mother  first  and  then  her  father,  and 
was  left  to  the  guardianship  of  her  uncle.  He  was 
also  trustee  under  the  will,  and  he  has,  I  believe, 
discretion  to  keep  charge  of  her  property,  if  he 
thinks  fit,  till  she  reaches  the  age  of  twenty-five  ; 
though  in  case  of  his  death  she  is  to  inherit  in  the 
ordinary  way,  on  coming  of  age.  She  is  a  very 
dutiful  and,  indeed,  an  affectionate  niece ;  though  I 
must  say  he  is  scarcely  fair  to  her,  keeping  her,  as 
he  does,  so  completely  secluded  from  the  society  of 
young  people  of  her  own  age.  Mere  thoughtless- 
ness, I  think ;  he  has  had  no  children  of  his  own, 
his  mind  is  wholly  occupied  with  his  science  and  his 
fads,  and  he  makes  himself  a  recluse  without  a 
thought  of  the  girl.     And  that  brings  me  to  what  I 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  75 

was  about  to  say  at  first,  when  you  asked  me  if 
Mr.  Mason  had  any  friends  connected  with  China. 
There  is  a  young  doctor — Lawson  is  his  name — 
some  very  distant  connection  of  the  family,  I  think, 
who  had  a  professional  appointment  of  some  sort  in 
Shanghai  for  a  year  or  two,  but  who  is  now  in 
London  trying  to  work  up  a  small  practice  of  his 
own.  If  you  hadn't  mentioned  China  I  shouldn't 
have  thought  of  him,  since  he  never  goes  to  the 
house  now — or,  at  any  rate,  is  supposed  not  to 
go." 

"  Doesn't  go  to  the  house  ?  And  why  is  that  ?  " 
u  Well,  there  was  a  disagreement.  What  it  was 
I  don't  quite  know,  but  in  the  first  place  it  had  some 
connection  with  some  of  Mason's  experiments — 
something  which  Lawson  declined  to  help  him  with 
for  professional  reasons,  or  else  something  he 
declined  to  do  for  Lawson,  I  don't  know  which. 
But  the  thing  went  further,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  was  something  between  the  young  people — 
Lawson  is  only  twenty-eight — and  Mason  put  an 
end  to  that  It  had  been  something  like  a  formal 
engagement,  I  think,  but  in  the  quarrel — Mason  was 
always  quarrelling  with  somebody  when  he  had 
friends,  and  that* s  why  he  has  so  few  now — in  the 
quarrel  things  were  said  that  ended  in  a  rupture. 
Whether  young    Lawson  was  fortune-hunting  or 


76  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

not  I  cannot  say,  but  Mason  certainly  accused  him 
of  it,  and  promised  to  keep  back  the  girl's  money  as 
long  as  he  could.  In  the  meantime  Mason  declared 
an  end  to  the  engagement,  and  poor  Helen  was 
broken-hearted  ;  for  as  I  have  said,  she  is  an  affec- 
tionate girl,  and  she  hadn't  a  friend  to  confide  in. 
But  I'm  boring  you — you  don't  want  to  know  all 
these  things,  surely  f " 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  can't  possibly  know  too 
much,  and  the  particulars  can't  possibly  be  too 
minute.  Nine  cases  out  of  ten  I  bring  to  an  issue 
by  means  of  a  triviality.  You  were  saying  a  little 
while  back  that  there  were  almost  no  visitors  at 
Mr.  Mason's  house  ;  but  you  said  'almost,'  and  that 
means  there  are  some.     Who  are  they  ?  " 

"  Very  occasionally — rarely,  in  fact — there  are  one 
or  two  members  of  learned  societies  with  whom  he 
had  been  in  correspondence,  or  who  are  old  friends. 
There  is  a  Professor  Hutton  and  a  Dr.  Burge,  I 
believe  ;  but  they  don't  appear  once  in  six  months  ; 
and  there  is  Mr.  Everard  Myatt,  who  is  more 
fi  equent.  He  does  not  profess  to  be  a  great  man  of 
science,  but  he  is  interested  in  chemistry  as  an 
amateur,  and  is,  I  fancy,  a  sort  of  disciple  of 
Mason's.  He  has  noticed  a  sad  difference  in  Mason 
just  lately,  and  he  even  called  on  me  yesterday, 
though  I  hardly  knew  him  by  sight,  in  the  hope  that 


MR.   JACOB    MASON  77 

I  would  back  up  his  urgent  suggestion  that  Mason 
should  go  off  for  a  change  and  a  rest.  Beyond 
these  I  don't  think  I  know  of  a  single  visitor.  But 
here  we  are  at  the  Megatherium." 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  CASE  OF  MR.  JACOB  MASON    (CONTINUED) 

Mr.  Jacob  Mason's  house  stood  in  its  own  grounds 
in  a  quiet  suburban  road.  It  was  not  a  very  large 
house,  but  it  straggled  about  comfortably  in  the 
manner  of  detached  houses  built  in  the  suburbs  at  a 
time  when  space  was  less  valuable  than  now,  and 
it  consisted  of  two  floors  only.  The  front  door  was 
not  far  from  the  road,  and  was  clearly  visible  to 
passengers  who  might  chance  to  look  through 
either  of  the  two  iron  gates  that  opened  one  on 
each  end  of  the  semi-circular  drive. 

All  these  things  Martin  Hewitt  noticed  as  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Potswood  pushed  open  one  of  these  gates, 
and  the  two  walked  up  the  drive.  The  front  door 
stood  in  a  portico,  and  a  French  window  gave 
access  to  the  roof  of  this  portico  from  a  bedroom 
or  dressing-room.  As  Hewitt  and  his  companion 
approached  the  house  the  French  window  was 
pushed  open,  and  a  man  appeared — a  middle-aged, 
slightly  stoutish  man  with  a  short,  grey  beard ; 
commonplace  enough  in  himself,  but  now  convulsed 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  79 

with  noisy  anger,  shaking  his  fists  and  stamping  on 
the  portico-roof. 

*  Get  out ! "  he  shouted.  u  Don't  come  near  my 
house  again,  or  I'll  have  you  flung  out  1  Go  away 
and  take  your  friends  with  you.  1  D'you  hear  ? 
Go  away,  sir,  and  don't  come  here  annoying  me  ! 
Go  !     Go  at  once  ! " 

Mr.  Potswood  absolutely  staggered  with  amaze- 
ment. "  Why,"  he  gasped,  "  it's  Mason  !  He's 
mad — clean  mad  !  Why,  Mason,  my  poor  friend, 
don't  you  know  me  ?" 

"  Get  out,  I  say  I "  cried  Mason.  u  Give  me  no 
more  of  your  talk  I  I  won't  have  you  here  I  "  And 
now  Hewitt  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  girl's  face  at  the 
window  behind  the  man — a  pale  and  handsome 
face,  drawn  with  anxiety  and  fear. 

Hewitt  seized  the  clergyman  quickly  by  the  arm. 
"Come,"  he  whispered  hurriedly,  "come  away  at 
once.  There  is  a  reason  for  this.  Get  away  at 
once.  If  you  can  answer  back  angrily,  do  so,  bat 
a*  any  rate,  come  away.1* 

He  hurried  back  to  the  gate,  half  dragging  the 
astounded  rector,  who  was  all  too  honest  a  soul  to 
be  able  to  counterfeit  an  anger  he  did  not  feel,  even 
if  his  amazement  had  not  made  him  speechless. 
Hewitt  closed  the  gate  behind  him  and  said  as  he 
walked,  "  Where  is  the  rectory  ?    We  will  go  there. 


<k,  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

He  may  have  sent   a    me s -age    while    you    were 
out." 

Mechanically  the  rector  took  the  first  turning. 
"  But  he's  mad ! "  he  protested.  "  Mad,  poor 
fellow  !  Merciful  heavens,  Mr.  Hewitt,  his  whole 
tale  must  have  been  a  delusion  !  A  mere  madman's 
fancy  1  Poor  fellow  !  We  must  go  back,  Mr. 
Hewitt — we  really  must  1  We  can't  leave  that  poor 
girl  there  alone  with  a  raving  maniac  1 " 

"No,"  Hewitt  insisted,  "come  to  the  rectory. 
That  is  no  madness,  Mr.  Potswood.  Couldn't  you 
see  the  colour  of  the  man  under  the  eyes,  and  the 
shaking  of  his  beard  ?  That  was  not  anger  and  it 
was  not  madness.  It  was  terror,  Mr.  Potswood — 
sheer,  sick  terror  1  Terror,  or  some  emotion  very 
much  like  it." 

*  But,  if  terror,  why  that  outburst  ?  What  does 
it  mean  ?  If  it  were  terror,  why  not  rather  welcome 
our  company  and  help  ?  " 

"Don't  you  see,  Mr.  Potswood?"  answered 
Hewitt.  "  Don't  you  guess  ?  Mason  is  watched, 
and  he  knows  it !  He  was  acting  his  anger  before 
unseen  eyes — and  he  knew  they  were  on  him  ! " 

"  God  be  merciful  to  us  all,"  ejaculated  the  clergy- 
man. "  Poor  man — poor  sinner  I  What  is  this  un- 
speakable thing  which  has  him  in  its  clutches  ?  What 
had  he  done  to  give  himself  over  to  such  a  power  ?  " 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  ti 

"We  can  tell  nothing,  and  guess  nothing,  as  yet," 
Hewitt  answered.  "  Let  us  see  if  he  has  sent  you  a 
message.  It  seems  likely.  If  he  has  it  may  help  us. 
If  not — then  I  think  we  must  do  something  decisive 
at  once.  But  don't  hurry  so  !  It  is  hard  to  restrain 
one's  self,  I  know,  but  there  may  be  eyes  on  us, 
Mr.  Potswood,  and  we  must  not  seem  to  be  persist- 
ing in  our  errand." 

So  they  went  through  the  quiet  streets  for  the 
two  or  three  furlongs  that  seemed  so  many  miles  to 
the  good  parson.  Arrived  at  the  rectory,  Mr. 
Potswood  pushed  impatiently  through  the  gate, 
and  was  hurrying  toward  the  house,  when  he 
perceived  a  bent  little  old  man  standing  among 
some  shrubs  with  his  own  gardener,  who  was 
digging. 

"There's  Mason's  gardener!"  the  rector  ex- 
claimed, and  went  to  meet  him. 

The  old  man  touched  his  hat,  looked  sharply 
towards  Hewitt,  who  was  waiting  near  the  rectory 
door,  and  then  disappeared  round  a  corner  of  the 
house,  the  rector  following.  In  a  few  seconds  Mr. 
Potswood  reappeared,  with  a  slip  of  paper  in  his 
hand.  "  Here,"  he  said,  "  see  this !  The  old  man 
was  told  to  give  it  to  nob  >dy  but  me,  and  in  nobody 
else's  presence.  He's  been  waiting  since  one 
o'clock." 

t 


82  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Scrawled  on  the  paper,  in  trembling  and  straggling 
letters,  were  these  words  : — 

u  You  must  not  bring  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  to  my 
house  this  afternoon.  I  am  watched.  It  is  hope- 
less. Do  not  desert  me.  Bring  him  to-night  after 
dark  at  eight.  I  shall  want  his  best  skill,  and  you 
shall  know  all.  After  dark.  Come  to  the  back 
gate  in  the  lane,  which  will  be  ajar,  and  through  the 
conservatory  at  the  side,  where  my  niece  will  be 
waiting  at  eight,  after  dark.  Burn  this  and  do  not 
let  it  out  of  your  sight  first.  Send  a  line  by  this 
man  to  say  you  will  do  as  I  ask,  but  do  not  say  what 
it  is,  for  fear  of  accidents.  Send  at  once.  Do  come 
at  eight,  with  Mr.  Hewitt." 

"We  must  do  as  he  says,"  remarked  Hewitt. 
"  We  know  nothing  of  this  matter,  and  we  must  be 
guided  till  we  do.  Just  write  an  unsigned  note — 
1  All  shall  be  as  you  request,'  or  words  to  that  effect, 
and  be  sure  the  man  gives  it  to  him.  Let  him  out 
behind  through  the  churchyard,  if  possible,  and  tell 
him  not  to  go  straight  from  one  house  to  the  other. 
Is  he  an  intelligent  man  ?  " 

"  Yes — uncommonly  shrewd,  I  believe.  He  says 
he  can't  have  been  followed.  He  knows  several 
gardeners  hereabout,  and  he  seems  to  have  called 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  83 

on  each  of  them  on  his  way — in  at  the  front  of  the 
garden  and  out  at  the  back  each  time,  after  a  few 
minutes'  conversation.  Gipps  is  rather  a  cunning 
old  fellow." 

-  Ah,"  said  Hewitt  admiringly,  u  that's  the  sort  of 
messenger  I  often  want.  I'll  give  him  half  a  crown 
for  himself  and  the  money  to  pay  for  a  telegram  on 
his  way.     He  knows  nothing  essential,  of  course  ?  " 

M  No — only  that  his  master  is  in  some  sort  of 
trouble,  and  warned  him  that  he  might  be  fol- 
lowed." 

"That  is  good.  I  shall  telegraph  to  Detective- 
Inspector  Plummer,  of  Scotland  Yard.  All  right — 
I  quite  understand  that  all  I  have  heard  is  con- 
fidential. I  shall  tell  Plummer  nothing  till  I  may — 
indeed,  as  yet  I  have  very  little  to  tell  that  would 
help  him.  But  I  think  it  will  be  well  to  have  the 
police  within  call — we  may  want  them  at  a  moment's 
notice ;  I  have  no  police  powers,  you  see,  and 
Plummer  has  the  Denson  case  in  hand.  I  will  ask 
him  to  be  here,  at  this  house,  before  a  quarter  to 
eight,  if  you  will  allow  me." 

And  so  the  telegram  went  to  Plummer,  and  Hewitt, 
accepting  the  rector's  invitation  to  an  early  dinner 
before  starting  on  their  visit,  resigned  himself  to 
wait.  He  did  not  like  the  waste  of  time,  as  he  frankly 
told   Mr.   Potswood.     He  would  have  preferred  to 


84  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

see  Mason  at  once,  at  any  risk,  and  to  take  what 
means  he  thought  necessary  without  delay.  But  as 
it  seemed  that  the  risk  was  to  be  chiefly  Mason's, 
and  as  Mason  knew  all  of  which  both  he  and  the 
rector  were  ignorant,  Mason  must  be  allowed  to 
choose  his  own  time. 

The  excellent  Mr.  Potswood  endured  agonies  of 
suspense,  though  he  also  insisted  that  Mason's 
wishes  must  be  observed  exactly.  "  What  is  it  all — 
what  can  it  be  ? "  he  ejaculated  again  and  again. 
"  What  dreadful  influence  can  thus  compass  a  man 
about,  here  in  London,  in  these  times  ?  " 

It  was  autumn,  and  night  fell  early.  Dinner  was 
over  at  last,  and  they  had  scarcely  left  the  table 
when  Plummer  arrived,  anxious  and  eager. 

"You'll  have  to  trust  me  a  little,  Plummer," 
Hewitt  said,  when  he  had  made  him  known  to  the 
rector.  "  1  can  tell  you  nothing  now — know  nothing, 
in  fact,  or  very  little  more  than  nothing.  The  fact 
is,  I'm  going  to  see  a  man  who  promises  information 
to  me  alone,  in  confidence,  as  his  client,  and  I  don't 
know  how  long  I  may  have  to  keep  you  in  the  dark. 
But  this  is  where  the  trail  lies  hot,  and  I  know  that's 
where  you  want  to  be.  More,  if  you're  wanted 
suddenly  you'll  be  at  hand.  You  have  a  man  or 
two  with  you,  I  suppose,  as  I  suggested  ?  " 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  85 

44  Three  of  the  best  of  them.  They  will  follow  us 
up.    Is  it  far  ?  " 

44  No,  close  enough.  It  is  a  house  in  a  walled 
garden — not  a  high  wall.  We  go  in  at  a  gate  from 
the  lane  behind,  and  I  think  you  should  wait  at  that 
gate,  and  put  your  men  at  hand.  We  mustn't  go  in 
as  a  crowd.  The  rector  had  better  go  first,  and  you 
and  I  will  follow  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road." 

So  the  procession  was  formed,  and  it  was  still 
some  three  minutes  short  of  eight  o'clock  when 
Hewitt  and  Plummer  joined  the  clergyman  at  the 
door  in  the  garden  wall  behind  Mason's  house. 
The  door  was  ajar  as  had  been  promised  in  Mason's 
note.  Leaving  Plummer  on  guard  without,  Martin 
Hewitt  and  the  rector  stepped  as  silently  as  possible 
through  the  little  kitchen  garden  and  across  a  strip 
of  lawn  toward  where  a  dull  light  illuminated  the 
conservatory,  at  the  right-hand  end  of  the  house. 
The  door  of  the  conservatory  was  ajar  also,  and  this 
the  rector  pushed  open. 

"  Miss  Creswick  ! "  the  rector  called,  in  a  loud 
whisper.  "  Miss  Creswick  i  *  And  with  that  a  girl 
appeared  within. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Potswood,"  she  said,  "I'm  so  glad 
you've  come  I  I  can't  think  what's  wrong  with  poor 
uncle  I     I'm  afraid  he  must  be  going  mad  1     He  is 


86  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

terrified  at  something,  and  he  has  been  getting  worse, 
till  he  could  hardly  speak  or  walk.  Dr.  Lawson  has 
been — about  an  hour  ago,  and  since  then  uncle  has 
been  much  quieter,  in  his  study." 

They  were  entering  the  dimly-lighted  drawing- 
room  now.  "  Dr.  Lawson  ? "  queried  the  rector. 
44  Rather  an  unusual  visitor,  isn't  he  ?  How  long 
has  he  been  gone  ?  " 

Miss  Creswick  flushed  slightly  through  all  her 
paleness  and  grief.  "  I  don't  know,"  she  said.  "  He 
let  himself  out,  I  fancy.  He  said  he  could  not  stay 
long  when  he  came,  but  I  didn't  hear  him  go  ;  I 
have  been  upstairs,  and  the  servants  are  in  the 
kitchen — they  say  uncle's  mad,  and  I'm  really  afraid 
he  is!" 

They  left  the  drawing-room,  and  walked  along  the 
corridor  and  the  hall  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
house,  where  the  study  lay.  Miss  Creswick  tapped 
gently  at  the  door,  but  there  was  no  answer.  She 
tapped  again,  louder,  and  then  came  the  faint  sound 
of  a  quick  step  on  the  carpet,  and  then  a  slight 
scraping  noise,  as  when  a  door  is  closed  over  a 
carpet  it  will  scarcely  pass.  "  That's  the  window 
into  the  garden,"  said  Miss  Creswick.  "  Why  is  he 
going  out  ?     Uncle  !     Uncle  Jacob  !  • 

But  now  the  silence  was  wholly  unbroken.  Hewitt 
snatched  quickly  at  the  door-handle.     "  Locked  1 " 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  87 

he  said.  u  Come — the  quickest  way  into  the 
garden  ! " 

They  ran  out  at  the  front  door,  and  round  toward 
the  study  window.  It  was  a  French  window,  exactly 
at  the  opposite  end  of  the  house  to  the  conservatory, 
and  now  the  gas-light  streamed  out  through  one 
half  of  it,  which  stood  curtainless  and  ajar,  while  the 
curtain  was  drawn  across  the  other  half.  Hewitt 
was  the  least  familiar  with  the  place,  but  he  was 
quickest  on  his  legs,  and  more  seriously  alarmed 
than  the  others.  He  reached  the  window  first — and 
instantly  turned  and  thrust  the  rector  back  against 
Miss  Creswick.  u  Quick  I  take  her  away,"  he  said  ; 
"  we  are  too  late  1 "  and  in  the  same  moment,  even 
as  Hewitt  dashed  over  the  threshold,  he  snatched  a 
whistle  from  his  pocket,  and  blew  his  hardest. 

There  on  the  floor  lay  Mason,  his  face  dreadful 
and  staring  and  black ;  tight  in  his  neck  was  the 
band  of  a  tourniquet,  and  fresh  and  wet  on  his  fore- 
head was  the  Red  Triangle. 

Hewitt  snatched  at  the  screw  of  the  tourniquet 
behind  the  neck,  and  loosened  it  as  quickly  as  hands 
could  turn.  But  it  was  too  late.  Too  late,  the 
examining  surgeon  afterwards  said,  by  a  quarter  of 
an  hour. 

Plummer  was  at  the  window  with  his  men  at  his 
heels  even  before  the  tourniquet  was  half  unscrewed. 


88  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

*  Round  the  wall  of  the  garden,"  shouted  Hewitt, 
u  and  whistle  up  the  police  !  He's  only  this  moment 
out!" 

The  house  was  alive  with  shouts  and  screams. 
The  rector  came  running  back,  and  Hewitt,  busy 
with  his  useless  attempt  at  restoration,  called  now 
for  a  doctor.  People  were  scampering  in  the  street, 
and  Hewitt  left  the  victim  to  the  care  of  the  rector, 
and  himself  joined  Plummer,  all  in  fewer  seconds 
than  it  may  be  told  in. 

But  Plummer  and  his  men  were  beaten,  for 
nothing— not  so  much  as  a  moving  shadow — was 
seen  in  the  garden  or  about  the  walls.  Worse,  the 
general  trampling  would  obliterate  possible  tracks. 
Plummer  set  a  guard  of  police  about  the  wall,  and 
came  in  for  consultation  with  Hewitt. 

The  body  was  carried  into  another  room,  and 
Hewitt  and  Plummer  began  an  examination  of  the 
study. 

"  No  signs  of  a  struggle,"  commented  Plummer, 
u  and  there  was  no  noise,  they  say.    That's  very  odd." 

"  From  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  to-day,"  said 
Hewitt,  "  it  is  as  I  should  have  expected.  I  believe 
the  man  was  almost  killed  by  terror  before  he  was 
strangled — dazed,  stricken  dumb,  paralysed,  deafened 
by  it — everything  but  blinded,  poor  wretch.  And  to 
have  been  blinded  would  have  been  a  mercy." 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  89 

And  then,  as  they  made  their  examination  system- 
atically, calmly  and  without  flurry,  Hewitt  told  the 
whole  tale  of  his  day's  adventures,  together  with  all 
he  had  heard  from  the  rector.  u  The  man's  dead," 
he  said,  "and  his  confidence  is  at  an  end.  Indeed, 
I  never  had  it — the  case,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
is  over  before  I  have  even  touched  it.  I  haven't 
had  a  chance,  Plummer ;  and  the  thing  is  deep  and 
dark,  deep  and  dark.  Oh,  if  only  the  man  had  let 
me  come  to  him  in  the  daylight,  spite  of  all  I  This 
might  all  have  been  averted.  .  .  .  There  has  been  a 
close  search  here,  too.  See  how  everything  is 
turned  over.     But,  stay  I " 

A  low  fire  smouldered  in  the  grate,  and  on  it  lay 
ashes  of  many  burnt  papers.  Hewitt  passed  the 
shovel  carefully  under  these  ashes,  lifted  them  out 
and  placed  them  gently  on  the  table  under  the  light 
of  the  gas-pendant. 

"  I  must  leave  you,"  said  Plummer.  *  There'll  be 
an  inspector  here  from  the  station  in  a  moment — he 
won't  interfere  with  you,  and  if  anybody  can  get 
information  out  of  this  room  it's  you.  The  next 
thing  for  me  is  plain.  I  must  make  sure  of  Dr. 
Lawson,  if  he  can  be  found." 

"That  is  quite  right,  without  a  doubt,"  Hewitt 
responded.  u  I  may  find  anything  or  nothing  in 
this  room,  and,  meanwhile,  he  was  the  last  person 


90  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

known  to  have  been  here,  and  the  only  visitor,  and 
he  was  not  heard  to  go  out,  unless  we  heard  him  go 
when  we  were  outside  the  study  door.  More,  it  was 
plainly  some  one  familiar  with  the  place  who  was 
able  to  get  away  so  quickly  by  the  window  and  the 
garden." 

41  And  his  interest  in  getting  rid  of  Mason,  too — 
the  girl  of  age  in  a  few  months,  and  all  obstacles  to 
getting  hold  of  her,  and  her  money,  removed.  And 
— and  the  surgical  tourniquet,  the  Chinese  colour 
and  everything ! " 

44  Quite  right,  you  must  make  sure  of  him,  as  you 
say.  You  will  get  his  address  from  the  rector. 
Meanwhile  I'll  try  to  begin  my  little  contribution  to 
the  case — to  begin  it  as  best  I  can,  after  all  the 
chances  have  made  it  useless.* 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  CASE  OF  MR.  JACOB  MASON    (CONTINUED) 

It  was  after  nine  when  Plummer  returned.  The 
rector  had  just  rejoined  Hewitt  in  the  study,  having 
left  poor  Miss  Creswick,  utterly  broken  down,  in 
her  room,  in  charge  of  a  scarcely  less  terrified 
servant.  Plummer  tapped,  and  pushed  the  study 
door  open. 

"That's  done  clean  and  sure  enough,"  he  said, 
with  professional  calmness.  "And  he's  a  cool 
hand,  is  that  Dr.  Lawson.  But  have  you  found 
anything  more  ?    We  shall  want  all  we  can  get." 

"We  shall/'  Hewitt  assented,  "and  we  shall  find 
more  than  we've  got  now,  or  I'm  grievously  mis- 
taken.    But  tell  me  first  what  you've  done." 

He  removed  the  blotting  pad,  on  which  the  paper 
ashes  still  lay,  and  very  carefully  shut  it  away  in  a 
wide  drawer  where  no  draught  could  disturb  it ;  he 
also  shut  another  drawer  which  stood  open. 

"  We  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  Dr.  Lawson," 
Plummer  began.  "We  met  him,  in  fact,  leaving 
his  surgery.    I  went  back  with  him  into  the  gas- 


92  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

light,  and  there  put  it  to  him  plump.  Well,  he  was 
staggered,  badly.  Any  man  would  be,  of  course. 
But  he  pulled  himself  together  wonderfully  soon, 
and  the  first  thing  he  said  was  that  he  was  just  on 
his  way  to  Mason's  house.  I  thought  at  first,  of 
course,  that  he  meant  to  deny  that  he  had  been  there 
already,  and  I  gave  him  the  usual  warning  about 
what  he  said  being  used  in  evidence.  But  he  went 
on,  and  I've  got  it  all  safely  noted.  He  admired 
that  he  had  been  here,  at  about  seven  o'clock  or  just 
before,  and  he  said  he  came  because  Mr.  Mason  sent 
for  him.  That  doesn't  seem  likely,  does  it,  on  the 
facts  as  we  know  them  ?  " 

"Why,  no,"  said  the  rector.  "The  last  time  he 
was  here  he  was  ordered  out,  and  I  know  of  no 
reason  why  he  should  have  been  asked  to  come 
to-day.    We  must  ask  if  anybody  was  sent." 

M  I  have  asked,"  replied  Plummer,  u  just  now,  and 
none  of  the  servants  was  sent.  But  Lawson's  story 
is  that  he  was  sent  for  and  came,  though  he  said  he 
shouldn't  say  what  Mason  wanted  to  see  him  about 
till  he  knew  more  of  the  case.  Looks  as  though  he 
hadn't  quite  got  his  story  ready  yet,  doesn't  it  ?  He 
had  thought  over  the  point  about  not  being  seen  to 
go  away,  though ;  he  said  he  had  let  himself  out  at 
about  half-past  seven,  being  familiar  with  the  ways 
of  the  house.    And  he  said  that  Mason  was  rather 


MR.    JACOB   MASON  93 

unwell — nervously  upset — when  he  left  him,  but 
that  was  all." 

H  It's  terrible,"  said  the  rector,  "  terrible.  It  seems 
impossible  to  believe  it  of  young  Lawson  ;  and  ye* 
— and  yet ! "  And  then  after  a  pause — "  Good 
heavens ! "  he  burst  out  again.  "  Why,  I  only 
realise  it  now !  There  is  the  other  crime,  too  I 
Denson !  Two  murders  I  Two— and  most  cer- 
tainly by  the  same  hand  !  Mr.  Plummer,  I  carii 
believe  it  1  Oh,  there's  more  behind,  more  behindr 
Mr.  Hewitt." 

"  There  is  more,"  said  Hewitt,  H  as  you  will  see 
when  1  tell  you  the  little  1  have  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain. There  is  more  behind,  though  1  see  little  of  it 
yet.     First " 

There  was  a  sharp  knock  at  the  front  door, 
followed  by  a  ring,  muffled  in  the  distant  kitchen, 
Hewitt  started  up.  "  Who  is  this  late  visitor  at  this 
unvisited  house  ?  "  he  said.  "  If  it  is  the  police,  well 
enough.  But  if  anybody  else — anybody — you  may 
call  me  Doctor,  or  anything  you  please,  except 
Martin  Hewitt.     Don't  forget  that  1 " 

There  were  hurried  stops  in  the  hall,  a  question  or 
two,  and  the  study  door  was  pushed  open.  Two 
servants — they  would  not  venture  from  the  kitchen 
singly  this  dreadful  night — made  a  confused 
announcement  of  "  Mr.  Myatt,"  and  were  instantly 


94  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

pushed  aside  by  Mr.  Myatt  himself,  anxious  and 
agitated. 

The  late  Mr.  Mason's  closest  scientific  friend 
was  a  palish,  black-bearded  man,  of  above  middle 
height,  with  stooping  shoulders  and  a  very  quick 
pair  of  eyes.  There  was  something  about  his  face 
that  somehow  reminded  Hewitt  of  portraits  he 
had  seen  of  John  Knox,  and  yet  it  was  not  such  a 
face  as  his ;  it  seemed  oddly  unlike  in  its  very 
likeness. 

"  What  is  this  dreadful  news,  Mr.  Potswood  ? " 
he  cried.  "  I  heard  people  talking  in  the  next 
street  on  my  way  home.  Is  it  true  ?  But  the 
servants  have  told  me  so.  They  say  our 
poor  friend — but  there  has  been  an  arrest,  hasn't 
there?" 

The  rector  nodded  gravely. 

"And  who?  Tell  me  about  it,  Mr.  Potswood 
—tell  me  I" 

"I  think  I  must  see  how  Miss  Creswick  is 
doing,"  said  Hewitt,  speaking  across  to  Plummer 
and  making  for  the  door. 

"  Certainly,  doctor,  certainly ! "  answered  Plummer 
with  a  nod. 

Hewitt  closed  the  door  behind  him,  leaving  the 
rector  in  the  full  tide  of  his  account  of  the  day's 
events ;  but  Hewitt's  way  took  him  to  the  kitchen, 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  95 

where  the  servants  were  cowering  and  whispering 
together,  frightened  and  bewildered. 

u  Is  there  any  paint  or  varnish  of  any  sort  in  the 
place  ? "  he  asked  sharply.  u  Give  me  anything 
there  is — black,  if  possible — and  a  brush,  quickly." 

u  There's — there's  Brunswick  black,  sir,  for  the 
stove,"  said  the  cook. 

"That  will  do;  be  quick.  Oh,  there's  Gipps, 
the  gardener  I  You're  just  the  man  I  want,  Gipps. 
Come  and  find  me  a  board  or  a  plank,  quick  as  you 
please  1"  And  Hewitt  pushed  the  old  gardener 
before  him  into  the  garden  by  the  kitchen  door. 


A  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  Mr.  Everard  Myatt, 
having  heard  all  that  was  to  be  told  of  his  friend's 
terrible  death  and  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Lawson, 
turned  to  go,  meeting  Hewitt  at  the  study  door 
on  his  way. 

"And  how  is  poor  Miss  Creswick  by  now, 
doctor  ?  "  he  asked  anxiously. 

Hewitt  shook  his  head.  "  No  better  than  you 
could  expect,"  he  said,  "but,  on  the  whole,  no 
worse.  She  mustn't  be  seen  to-night,  of  course,  but, 
perhaps,  if  you  could  call  round  in  the  morning  with 
the  rector " 

u  Of     course — of    course !     Poor     girl — and    Dr 


96  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Lawson  suspected,  too — what  a  terrible  blow  for 
her!  Anything  I  can  do,  doctor,  of  course,  as  I 
said  to  Mr.  Pots  wood — anything  I  can  do  I  will  do 
as  gladly  as  such  sad  circumstances  permit." 

The  rector  had  been  coming  to  the  door  with 
Mr.  Myatt,  but  Plummer,  catching  a  sign  from 
Hewitt,  restrained  him  unseen,  and  Hewitt  and  the 
visitor  walked  into  the  hall  together. 

"They  have  put  out  the  light,  it  seems,"  Hewitt 
said.  *  I  wonder  why — unless  people  from  the 
crowd  have  been  coming  into  the  garden  and 
staring  in  through  the  glass  panels.  I  wonder  if 
we  can  find  the  door-handle.  Yes,  here  it  is.  Da;  k 
outside,  too !  Good-night — mind  how  you  go  on 
the  steps  I" 

Mr.  Myatt  checked  and  stumbled  in  the  dark 
porch,  and  reached  quickly  downward. 

"There's  a  board  standing  across  the  porch, "  he 
said. 

"  A  board  ?  "  replied  Hewitt.  u  So  there  is.  Let 
me  move  it,  or  it'll  upset  somebody.    Good-night !  " 

Mr.  Myatt  strode  off  into  the  dark  night,  and 
Hewitt,  noiselessly  lifting  the  board  he  had  himself 
placed  in  position,  hastened  back  to  the  study. 

He  swung  up  the  board,  all  sticky  and  shiny  with 
Brunswick  black,  and  laid  it  across  a  spread  news- 
paper, on  the  table.     There  on  the  top,  in  the  midst 


MR.    JACOB   MASON  97 

of  the  black  varnish,  were  the  prints  of  all  five 
finger-tips  of  a  hand,  where  Mr.  Myatt  had  felt  for 
the  obstruction  in  the  porch. 

Hewitt  opened  the  drawer  he  had  shut  a  little 
while  back,  and  took  therefrom  a  sheet  of  writing- 
paper.  And  when,  with  the  lens  from  his  pocket, 
he  began  to  examine  that  paper  in  comparison  with 
the  finger-marks  on  the  board,  Plummer  and  the 
rector  could  see  that  there  were  also  two  distinct 
finger-marks  on  the  paper  and  one  faint  one — all 
red.    Plummer  came  to  look. 

"  What's  this  ?  "  he  said.  "  Was  this  what  you 
were  going  to  tell  us  about  ?  * 

Hewitt  did  not  reply  for  a  few  moments,  but  con- 
tinued his  examination.  Then  he  rose  and  turned 
to  Plummer. 

"You've  still  got  that  piece  of  paper  in  your 
pocket,  I  suppose,"  he  said,  "with  the  little  red 
smudges  of  colour  put  there  by  the  police  sur- 
geon ?  " 

"  Yes — here  it  is,"  and  the  detective  took  it  from 
his  waistcoat  pocket. 

"  Thanks,"  said  Hewitt.  "  Now,  see  here.  That 
is  a  little  of  the  red  stuff  taken  from  the  mark  on 
Denson's  forehead  a  week  ago,  and  found  to  consist 
of  vermilion,  oil  and  wax.  You  have  seen  the  second 
impression  of  that  awful  mark  on  the  forehead  of 


98  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

your  poor  friend  Mason,  Mr.  Potswood,  to-night, 
This  room  has  been  searched  for  papers  before  we 
began,  and  papers  have  been  burnt.  In  the  search 
this  drawer  was  opened — containing,  as  you  see, 
nothing  but  a  supply  of  new  headed  note-paper. 
The  note-paper  was  hastily  lifted  to  see  if  anything 
else  lay  beneath,  and  here,  on  the  bottom  sheet, 
these  finger-marks  were  left  in  that  same  adhesive, 
freely  marking  red — a  sort  of  stuff  that  sticks  to  and 
marks  whatever  it  touches.  The  hand  that  lifted 
that  paper  was  the  hand  that  impressed  that  ghastly 
mark  :  and  the  hand  that  left  its  print  on  this  black 
varnish  was  Mr.  Everard  Myatt's  I  Now  compare 
the  two  ! " 

Plummer  had  snatched  the  lens,  and  was  narrowly 
comparing  the  marks  ere  Hewitt  had  well  finished 
speaking. 

44  They  are  ! "  he  cried,  as  the  rector  bent  excitedly 
over  him.  "  They  are  the  same  I  See — forefinger 
and  middle  finger — the  same,  every  line  1  * 

"  I  needn't  tell  you,"  pursued  Hewitt,  "  certainly  I 
needn't  tell  Plummer,  that  that  is  the  most  certain 
and  scientific  method  of  identification  known.  The 
police  know  that — and  use  it  But  now  there  is 
some  more.  You  saw  me  take  that  charred  paper 
from  the  fire.  Sometimes  words  may  be  read  on 
charred  paper — it  depends  on  the  paper  and  the  ink. 


MR.   JACOB    MASON  99 

Most  of  the  cinders  were  too  much  broken  to  yield 
any  information,  though  we  may  try  again  by  day- 
light. But  one  was  suggestive.  See  it ! "  Hewitt 
very  carefully  pulled  out  the  flat  drawer  that  held 
the  cinders. 

"You  see,"  he  went  on,  "that  one — this — is 
different  from  the  rest.  It  has  retained  its  original 
form  better,  and  has  been  less  broken,  because  of 
being  of  thicker  paper.  It  is  a  crumpled  envelope 
Look  at  the  flap — it  has  never  been  closed  down. 
Moreover,  on  that  same  flap  you  may  read  in  em- 
bossed letters,  still  visible,  part  of  the  name  of  this 
house.  Plain  inference — this  was  an  envelope  in- 
tended for  a  letter  never  sent,  and  so  crumpled  up 
and  dropped  into  the  waste-paper  basket.  But  why 
should  such  an  apparently  unimportant  thing  as  that 
be  carefully  brought  from  the  waste-paper  basket 
and  burnt  ?  Somebody  was  anxious  that  the  smallest 
scrap  of  paper  evidencing  a  certain  correspondence 
should  be  destroyed.  But  look  closely  at  the  front 
of  the  envelope — the  ink  shows  a  rather  lighter  grey 
than  the  paper.  The  address  is  incomplete — at  any 
rate,  no  more  than  some  of  the  first  line  and  a  little 
of  the  second  is  at  all  visible  now  ;  but  it  is  plain 
that  the  first  line  begins  with  an  E.  The  letters 
immediately  following  are  not  distinct,  but  next 
there  is  a   capital  M    beginning   a  name  which  is 


ioo  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

clearly  Myatt  or  Myall.  Now,  that  is  why,  when 
Myatt  came  here,  I  took  the  first  steps  to  hand  to 
get  an  impression  of  his  finger-tips,  in  order  to 
compare  them  with  the  marks  on  that  paper." 

"  But  why,"  asked  the  astonished  rector,  u  why 
did  he  come  back  ?  " 

"  Nothing  but  a  bold  measure  to  see  how  things 
were  going — he  came  as  his  own  spy,  that's  all.  He's 
a  keen  and  dangerous  man.  Don't  you  remember 
telling  me  how  he  called  on  you  yesterday,  though 
you  hardly  knew  him  by  sight,  merely  to  ask  you  to 
persuade  Mason  to  take  a  holiday  ?  It  struck  me  as 
a  little  odd  at  the  time.  He  was  pumping  you,  Mr. 
Potswood — he  wanted  to  find  what  Mason  had  been 
saying  I  And  he  is  not  alone — plainly  he  is  not 
alone,  for  poor  Mason  knew  they  were  watching 
everywhere.  But  come — this  is  no  time  for  specula- 
tion. Plummer — you  must  hold  him  safely — we'll 
pick  up  evidence  enough  when  you've  got  him.  I 
wouldn't  leave  it,  Plummer — I'd  take  him  to- 
night ! " 

u  You're  right — right,  as  usual,  Mr.  Hewitt," 
Plummer  agreed.  "  More  especially  as  the  rector  was 
— well,  a  little  incautious  in  talking  to  him  just  now." 

"I  ?  What  did  I  say?"  Mr.  Potswood  asked, 
astonished.  "  I  had  no  suspicions — how  could  I 
have ?■ 


MR.   JACOB   MASON  101 

44  No,  Mr.  Potswood,"  the  detective  replied,  "  you 
had  no  suspicions,  and  for  ihat:  vety;reason,  ,in  the 
excitement  of  the  narrative,,  you  called^  Mr. o  Martin 
Hewitt  by  his  right  name  at  least  twice  V  AfteE  aftei 
I  had  called  him  '  doctor/  too  1 "  he  added  regret- 
fully. 

«  Is  that  so  ?  "  asked  Hewitt. 

The  poor  rector  was  sadly  abashed.  *  But  I  really 
wasn't  aware  of  it,  Mr.  Hewitt  I  "  he  protested.  "  I 
hardly  think  I  could — but,  there,  perhaps  I  did  1  Of 
course,  if  Inspector  Plummer  remembers  it " 

"He'll  be  off!"  exclaimed  Hewitt.  "With  that 
hint,  and  finding  the  black  stuff  on  his  hands,  he'll 
smell  a  rat  instantly  !  Come,  Mr.  Potswood — you 
can  show  us  the  nearest  way  to  his  house,  at  any 
rate  I     Come — we  may  get  him  yet  I " 


But  the  good  rector's  slip  of  the  tongue  was  fatal, 
and  Myatt  was  not  yet  to  meet  the  fate  that  fitted 
him.  The  house  was  not  far — less  than  a  mile  away. 
It  was  a  detached  house,  but  quite  a  small  one — 
smaller  than  Mason's.  Plummer  blocked  every  exit 
with  a  man,  but  his  caution  was  wasted.  Myatt  was 
gone. 

There  was  the  house  and  the  furniture  and  two 
servants,  just  as  it  might  have  been  any  day  in  the 


ioi  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

year  when  Myatt  was  out  for  an  hour.  Bui  now  he 
was  out*  for  good-  .The  police  watched  and  waited 
all  nigh tj t and  all  the  next  day;  they  waited  and 
watched  jfor  a  oweejc^  .and  the  house  was  under 
observation  after  that,  but  Myatt  never  returned. 
He  had  made  his  plans,  it  was  plain,  for  just  such 
a  flight,  whenever  the  necessity  might  arise  ;  and 
when  he  was  assured  that  danger  threatened,  he 
simply  vanished  in  the  dark  of  a  London  night. 
Search  brought  no  information — not  a  scrap  of  tell- 
tale paper  lay  in  Calton  Lodge — not  a  letter,  not  a 
line.  Though,  indeed,  the  police  were  to  see  more 
of  Myatt's  work  yet — and  so  was  Hewitt. 

Dr.  Lawson's  detention  did  not  last  the  night  out. 
The  unhappy  Mason  had  indeed  sent  to  him,  by  a 
chance  messenger,  having  grown  desperate  in  long 
waiting  for  the  return  of  Gipps  from  the  rectory. 
Mason  was  ready  to  call  in  any  aid,  to  recall  any  of 
the  friendships  he  had  sacrificed  in  the  past.  But 
Lawson  was  long  in  coming,  having  received  the 
note  after  a  long  professional  round,  and  when  at 
last  he  arrived,  Mason  was  a  little  reassured  by  the 
promise  of  Hewitt's  visit.  Therefore,  he  did  not  tell 
the  doctor  so  much  as  he  might  have  done.  Never- 
theless, he  talked  wildly  and  vaguely,  so  that  Dr. 
Lawson  feared  some  disturbance  of  his  reason. 
The  doctor  quieted  and  soothed  him,  however,  and 


MR.   JACOB  MASON  103 

when  he  left  he  promised  to  return  after  his 
consultation  hour  at  the  surgery  was  over.  He 
must  have  been  watched  away  from  the  house, 
and  then  the  blow  fell  that  sealed  for  ever  the 
lips  of  Jacob  Mason. 

Poor  Miss  Creswick  was  taken  from  the  old 
house  in  which  she  could  no  longer  remain,  and 
for  a  few  months  she  stayed  at  the  rectory,  tended 
lovingly  by  the  rector's  excellent  wife — stayed 
there,  in  fact,  till  her  wedding-day,  which  took  place 
early  the  next  year  ;  so  that  for  her  and  Dr.  Lawsoh 
the  tragedy  ended  in  happiness,  after  all. 

•  •  •  •  • 

"God  forgive  me,"  cried  the  rector  in  the  grey 
of  the  morning,  when  it  became  clear  that  Myatt 
had  escaped — "  God  forgive  me  1  Through  my 
stupidity  a  horrible  creature  has  been  set  loose  in 
the  world  to  work  his  diabolical  will  afresh  I " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Hewitt.  *  It  was  not  stupidity, 
Mr.  Potswood — nothing  but  your  openness  of 
character.  You  were  not  trained  to  the  cunning 
that  we  must  use  in  my  profession.  And  there 
will  be  more  than  Myatt  to  take — he  was  not 
alone  !  It  is  plain  that  Mason  was  found  to  be 
wavering  in  whatever  horrible  allegiance  he  had 
bound  himself,  and  he  was  watched.  No,  Myatt 
was  not  alone  1 " 


io4  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

M  No,  I  fear  not/'  replied  the  clergyman.  "  I  fear 
not :  there  is  horrible  mystery  still.  The  watching 
and  besetting  that  terrified  him  so  much  ;  the  fact 
that  he  seems  to  have  yielded  up  his  life  without  a 
struggle — and  that  with  help  so  near ;  and  the  con- 
nection— what  could  it  have  been  ? — between  Mason 
and  the  other  victim — Denson.  That  is  a  deep 
mystery  indeed !  And  that  horrible  sign  I  Mr. 
Hewitt,  you  have  done  much — but  not  all  1 " 

"  No,"  replied  Martin  Hewitt,  "  not  nearly  all.  It 
is  even  doubtful  whether  or  not  it  will  be  my  lot  to 
come  across  the  thing  again ;  but  it  will  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  police.  And,  after  all,  we  have  achieved 
something.  For  we  know  that  if  Myatt  can  be  cap- 
tured we  shall  be  at  the  heart  of  the  mystery." 


THE  CASE  OF  THE  LEVER  KEY 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   CASE   OF  THE   LEVER   KEY 

In  some  of  the  cases  which  we  now  know  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  Red  Triangle,  there  was 
nothing,  in  the  first  place,  to  show  any  such  asso- 
ciation. In  some  of  these  cases  the  connection  has 
become  apparent  only  since  the  final  clearing  up  of 
the  whole  mystery,  and  with  these  cases  we  have  no 
present  concern ;  but  in  others  it  revealed  itself 
during  the  investigation  of  the  case.  It  was  to  this 
second  category  that  the  next  case  belonged — the 
next  at  all  connectible,  that  is,  after  that  of  the 
mysterious  death  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason  and  the  flight 
of  Everard  Myatt. 

The  case  was  remarkable  in  other  respects  also ; 
first,  because  in  one  of  its  features  it  had  a  resem- 
blance to  the  case  of  Samuel's  diamonds,  which  first 
brought  the  Red  Triangle  to  Hewitt's  notice  ;  next, 
because  in  its  course  Hewitt  encountered  what  he 
declared  to  be  the  most  ingenious  and  baffling 
cryptogram  that  he  had  ever  seen  in  the  length  of 
his  strange  experience ;  and  thirdly,  because  I  was 


io8  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

the  means  of  placing  that  cryptogram  in  his  hands, 
[owing  to  one  of  those  odd  chances  that  arise  again 
and  again  in  real  life — are,  indeed,  so  common  as  to 
pass  almost  unregarded — and  yet  might  be  thought 
improbable  if  offered  in  the  guise  of  a  mere  story. 
Hewitt  has  often  alluded  to  the  curious  persistence 
of  such  chances  in  his  experience!  I  think  I  have 
elsewhere  mentioned  a  certain  police  officer's  pro- 
longed search  after  a  criminal  for  whose  arrest  he 
held  a  warrant,  ending  in  the  discovery — because  of 
a  misdirected  call — that  the  man  had  been  living  all 
the  time  next  door  to  himself  ;  and  I  have  also  told 
of  the  other  detective  inspector,  who,  being  sent  in 
search  of  a  criminal  of  whom  he  had  but  the 
meagrest  and  most  unsatisfactory  particulars,  and 
whom  he  scarcely  hoped  ever  to  run  down,  actually 
fell  over  the  man  as  he  was  leaving  the  office  where 
he  had  received  his  information,  in  the  doorway  of 
which  the  fellow  had  stooped  to  tie  his  shoe-lace  I 
But,  as  Hewitt  would  say,  nothing  but  the  excep- 
tional nature  of  the  surrounding  circumstances 
makes  these  things  seem  extraordinary.  What 
more  ordinary  experience,  for  example,  than  to 
meet  a  friend  in  some  London  street — perhaps  one 
friend  of  the  only  dozen  or  so  you  have  among  the 
four  millions  of  people  about  vou  ?  The  odds 
against  you  two,  of  all  the  millions,  choosing  the 


THE  LEVER  KEY  109 

one  street  of  the  thousands  in  London  to  walk  down 
at  the  same  minute  of  time,  would  seem  incal- 
culable ;  and  yet  the  chance  comes  off  so  often  as 
to  be  a  matter  of  the  most  ordinary  experience. 

On  this  occasion  I  was  expecting  orders  from 
my  editor  to  produce  certain  articles  on  the  subject 
of  the  London  hospitals.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  matter  was  very  much  in  the  air  a  few  years 
ago,  and  as  nothing  is  professionally  more  uncom- 
fortable than  to  be  called  on  suddenly  for  an 
accurate  and  reasonable  leading  article  on  a  subject 
one  knows  nothing  about,  I  wrote  to  my  friend, 
Barton  McCarthy,  who  is  house-surgeon  at  St. 
Augustine's,  and  he  replied  by  an  offer  to  tell  me 
anything  I  cared  to  ask  if  I  would  call  at  the 
hospital. 

I  set  out  accordingly  some  little  time  after  a 
breakfast  even  later  than  ordinary,  and  called  in  at 
Hewitt's  office  on  my  way  downstairs,  to  say  that  I 
should  not  be  lunching  at  our  usual  place  that 
day. 

u  No,"  Hewitt  answered,  u  nor  shall  I,  I  expect. 
I'm  off  to  the  City,  at  once.  I  have  an  urgent 
message  to  go  immediately  to  Kingsley,  Bell  and 
Dalton's,  in  Broad  Street,  where  a  big  bond 
robbery  has  just  been  discovered.  Perhaps  1  can 
give  you  a  lift  in  my  cab  ?  " 


no  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Wc  hurried  off  together  accordingly.  Hewitt 
knew  nothing  of  the  case  he  had  to  examine,  and  so 
could  tell  me  nothing,  beyond  the  short  urgent 
request  that  he  would  come  at  once,  and  that  the 
matter  involved  the  loss  of  bonds  to  a  very  large 
amount ;  and  he  dropped  me  at  a  convenient  spot, 
whence  my  walk  to  the  hospital  was  but  a  short 
one. 

I  saw  my  friend  McCarthy,  and  bothered  him 
very  successfully  for  nearly  an  hour,  getting  all  the 
information  I  had  expected,  and  more,  during  a 
very  interesting  walk  through  the  great  hospital. 

"You  get  some  idea  in  a  place  like  this,"  said 
McCarthy,  as  we  came  at  last  into  the  receiving 
room  for  accident  cases,  "you  get  some  idea,  Brett, 
of  the  size  of  this  great  London  machine  working 
about  us.  You  might  walk  about  the  streets  for  a 
week  and  never  see  a  serious  accident,  or  even  an 
accident  at  all,  and  yet,  you  see,  here  they  come  all 
day  long — a  stream  of  people  damaged  or  killed  in 
the  machine." 

A  decent  workman  was  having  a  gashed  hand 
dressed  and  strapped,  and  a  navvy  with  bandages 
about  his  head  was  being  led  away  by  a  friend. 
Nurses  and  dressers  were  waiting  ready  to  take  their 
orderly  turns  at  the  incoming  casualties,  and  as  we 
looked  a  more  serious  case  was  brought  in  on  an 


THE   LEVER    KEY  m 

ambulance  by  two  policemen.  The  patient  was  a 
ragged,  disreputable-looking  fellow  of  middle  age, 
in  grimy  and  tattered  clothes,  whose  head  had  been 
roughly  bandaged  by  the  policemen  who  brought 
him.  He  had  been  knocked  down  and  kicked  on 
the  head  by  a  butcher's  cart-horse,  it  seemed,  in 
Moorgate  Street,  and  he  was  quite  insensible.  A 
very  short  examination  showed  that  the  case  was 
nothing  trivial,  and  McCarthy  sent  me  to  sit  in  his 
private  room  to  wait  lunch,  while  he  gave  the  matter 
his  personal  attention. 

When  he  returned  he  brought  a  small  crumpled 
envelope  in  his  hand.  "  That  case  is  put  to  bed," 
he  said,  *  still  insensible." 

"  Is  it  very  bad  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Slight  fracture  of  the  occipital,  and,  of  course, 
concussion  of  the  brain — probably  contusion,  too, 
I  expect  we  shall  find  presently.  Not  so  over 
serious  for  a  healthy  man,  but  I'm  afraid  he's  an  old 
soaker — the  sort  that  crumple  up  at  a  touch. 
Nobody  knows  him,  and  there's  nothing  to  identify 
him  in  the  pockets — a  few  coppers,  an  old  knife, 
and  so  on.  So  we  can't  send  to  tell  his  friends — 
unless  we  bring  in  your  friend  Martin  Hewitt  to 
trace  'em  out,  which  would  come  too  expensive. 
Besides,"  McCarthy  added,  dropping  into  a  seat 
before   his   desk,  "if   he's   got   any   friends   they'll 


in  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

come,  sooner  or  later,  when  they  miss  him.  This  is 
the  only  thing  he'd  got  beside  what's  in  the  pockets 
— he'd  been  sent  on  a  message,  probably." 

My  friend  held  up  the  crumpled  envelope  and 
took  from  it  a  small  key.  u  He'd  got  this  envelope 
gripped  tightly  in  his  hand,"  he  said,  "but  there 
was  no  address  on  it,  so  we  tore  it  open  in  the  hope 
of  finding  one  inside.  But  there  was  nothing  there 
but  the  key.  If  you  were  a  very  promising  pupil  of 
your  friend  Hewitt,  I  should  expect  you  to  take  a 
glance  at  it  and  tell  us  the  man's  address  at  once, 
together  with  his  age,  birthplace,  when  vaccinated, 
and  the  residence  of  his  maternal  grandmother. 
But  you're  not,  so  I'll  let  you  off." 

McCarthy  turned  the  key  idly  about  in  his  hand 
and  tried  it  on  a  lock  in  his  desk.  "  Stopped  up," 
he  remarked,  withdrawing  it,  and  peeping  into  the 
barrel ;  "  not  dirt,  either — stopped  up  with  paper  1 
What's  that  for?" 

He  took  a  pin  to  clear  the  barrel,  and  the  paper 
came  away  quite  readily.  It  was  a  tight  little  roll, 
which  the  surgeon  pulled  out  into  a  small  strip 
rather  less  than  three  inches  long  and  about  half- 
an-inch  broad. 

*  Hullo ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Look  here !  Here's 
a  job  for  Martin  Hewitt,  after  all !  Figures  I 
What    does  that  mean  ?     And   what   an   amazing 


THE  LEVER   KEY  113 

place  to  put  them  in  1  A  key  barrel  I  By  Jove, 
Brett,  this  looks  like  one  of  your  favourite  adven- 
tures. Somebody  sends  a  key  in  an  envelope,  and 
a  row  of  incomprehensible  figures  rolled  up  inside 
the  key.     Look  at  it  I  " 

I  took  the  key  and  the  paper.  The  key  was  of  a 
good  sort ;  small,  inscribed  "  Tripp's  Patent "  on  the 
bow,  and  it  evidently  belonged  to  a  superior  lever 
lock.  The  paper  which  had  come  from  the  barrel 
was  very  thin  and  tough — a  kind  I  have  seen  used 
in  typewriters.  It  had  been  very  carefully  and  closely 
rolled,  and  then  pushed  into  the  key  so  that  its  natural 
tendency  to  open  out  held  it  tightly  within.  Written 
upon  it  with  a  fine  pen  appeared  a  series  of  very 
minute  figures,  thus  : — 


"  Well,"  inquired  McCarthy,  "  what  do  you  make 
of  it  ?  " 

"  Not  much  as  yet,"  I  admitted.     "  But  it's  pretty 


n4  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

certain  it  must  be  a  cryptogram  or  code-writing  oi 
some  sort ;  and  if  that's  the  case,  I  think  I  might 
back  myself  to  read  it — with  a  little  time."  For  I 
well  remembered  the  case  of  the  "Flitterbat  Lancers," 
and  the  lesson  in  cypher-reading  which  Hewitt  then 
gave  me. 

"  Come/'  my  friend  replied,  much  interested, 
"  let's  see  how  you  do  it.  Meantime  we'll  get  on 
with  our  lunch." 

I  took  a  pencil  and  a  spare  sheet  of  paper,  and  I 
studied  those  figures  all  through  lunch  and  for  some 
little  time  after.  It  soon  became  plain  that  the 
problem  was  much  more  difficult  than  it  looked, 
and  I  said  so.  "  At  the  first  glance,"  I  said,  "  it 
looked  a  fairly  easy  cypher  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
I  don't  think  it's  easy  at  all.  One  assumes,  of  course, 
that  the  figures  stand  for  letters,  and  on  that  assump- 
tion two  or  three  peculiarities  are  noticeable.  First, 
the  highest  number  written  here  is  23,  so  that  all  the 
letters  indicated,  in  whatever  order  they  may  come, 
are  within  the  compass  of  the  twenty-six  letters  oi 
the  alphabet.  Next,  the  numbers  most  frequently 
repeated,  if  we  except  the  noughts,  are  5  and  20, 
which  occur  seven  times  each.  Now ,  the  vowel 
most  frequently  occurring  in  average  English 
writing  is  et  and  you  will  at  once  perceive  that  e  is 
number  five   in  the  alphabet,   counting   from   the 


THE   LEVER   KEY  115 

beginning.  More,  if  we  go  on  counting  so,  we  shall 
find  that  20  is  /,  which  is  one  of  the  most  frequently 
occurring  consonants.  This  would  seem  to  hint 
that  the  cypher  is  of  the  very  simplest  description, 
consisting  of  the  mere  substitution  of  figures  for 
letters  in  the  exact  order  of  the  alphabet.  But  what, 
then,  of  the  noughts  ?  What  can  they  mean  ? 
More  especially  when  we  consider  that  in  three 
places  there  are  actually  four  noughts  in  succession  ; 
for,  of  course,  no  letter  is  repeated  four  times 
successively  in  any  English  word,  nor  in  any  foreign 
word  that  I  can  imagine.  But  let  us  put  down  the 
letters  in  substitution  for  the  figures,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  figures  stand  for  letters  in  their  alpha- 
betical order,  leaving  the  noughts  as  they  are.  Then 
we  get  this." 

I  rapidly  pencilled  the  letters  on  the  spare  paper, 
thus  : — i,  hf  n,  d,  t}  r,  t}  i ;  0,  s,  t,  o,  c,  *',  hf  t ;  cf  wt  o, 
o,  e,  m,  «,  s ;  s,  t,  o,  o,  o,  o,/,  a  ;  et  tt  o,  o,  o,  o,  c,  v; 
a,  of  o,  o,  o,  o,  r,  e  ;  a,  h,  t,  kt  r,  i,  et  t ;  I,  e,  w,  n,  n, 

a*  *,  t- 

"  See  there,"  I  said.  u  Now,  I  can  make  nothing  of 
thai.  When  I  come  to  examine  the  comparative 
frequency  of  the  different  letters,  I  find  them  much 
as  they  might  be  expected  to  be  in  a  sentence  of 
normal  English,  and  any  change  would  destroy  the 
proportion.     E  and  t  are  the  most  frequent,  and  then 


n6  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

come  a,  n,  i,  r,  s,  and  c.  But  as  they  stand  they  all 
mean  nothing.  It  is  possible  that  this  may  be  one 
of  the  difficult  variable  letter  cyphers,  which  Hewitt 
might  read,  but  I  can't  But  even  then,  if  the  values 
of  the  letters  change  as  they  would  do,  they  would 
get  out  of  their  normal  proportions  of  frequency ; 
so  that  a  variable  letter  cypher  seems  unlikely.  And 
there  is  another  oddity.  Look,  and  you  will  see  that, 
counting  the  noughts  in,  the  letters  go  in  groups  of 
eight,  with  a  semi-colon  at  the  end  of  each  group. 
Now,  it  is  impossible  that  the  message  can  be  a 
sentence  in  which  every  word  has  exactly  eight 
letters — or,  at  least,  I  should  think  so.  It  can 
scarcely  be  that  the  semi-colon  itself  means  a  letter 
— it  would  be  singular  for  one  letter  to  occur  with 
such  curious  regularity  as  that.  There  is  no  other 
visible  division  between  the  words,  nor  any  single 
one  of  the  usual  aids  by  which  the  reader  of  secret 
cypher  is  able  to  take  a  hold  of  his  work.  No,  I'm 
afraid  I  must  give  it  up ;  for  the  present,  at  any  rate. 
But  I  really  think  it  is  a  thing  that  would  vastly 
interest  Hewitt,  if  I  might  show  it  to  him.  I  suppose 
I  mustn't?" 

"Well,"  McCarthy  answered,  "perhaps  it  isn't 
strictly  according  to  rule,  but  I  think  I  might 
venture  to  lend  it  to  you  till  to-morrow,  if  that  will 
do.     Indeed,  I    think,  on  second  thoughts,  that  1 


THE   LEVER   KEY  117 

may  consider  myself  quite  justified,  since  it  may 
lead  to  the  man's  identification,  and  it  will  be  a 
sufficient  answer  to  any  inquiry  to  say  that  I  have 
shown  it  to  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  for  that  purpose. 
But  you'll  be  careful  of  it,  won't  you  ?  Do  you  want 
the  key,  too?" 

"  I  think,  if  I  may,  I  will  take  the  key  and  the 
envelope  all  together.  You  can  never  tell  what  may 
or  what  may  not  help  him,  and  the  three  things  may 
hang  together,  and  perhaps  explain  each  other  in 
some  mysterious  way." 

1  Very  good — here's  the  whole  bag  of  tricks.  It's 
a  queer  business  altogether,  and  I  must  say  1  feel 
inquisitive  ;  certainly,  if  Hewitt  can  get  anything  out 
of  those  figures  I  shall  be  mighty  curious  to  know 
how  he  does  it  You'll  come  in  again  to-morrow, 
then?" 

I  promised  I  would,  and  walked  off  with  the 
crumpled  envelope,  the  little  key,  and  the  puzzling 
strip  of  figures.  Since  the  lesson  from  Hewitt 
which  I  have  alluded  to,  I  had  often  amused  myself 
with  cryptogram  reading,  and  I  had  never  found  a 
cypher  message  in  a  newspaper  u  agony-column  " 
the  meaning  of  which  I  could  not  get  at  with  a  little 
trouble.  But  this  was  something  altogether  beyond 
me  ;  and  if  I  have  any  reader  who  prides  himself 
on  his  ability  to  read   secret  cypher,  I  recommend 


n8  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

him  to  try  his  skill  on  this  one  before  he  reads 
further. 

The  circumstances,  too,  seemed  as  puzzling  as 
the  writing  itself.  Why,  if  any  person  wished  to 
send  a  note  and  a  key  in  a  closed  envelope,  should 
he  take  the  trouble  to  pack  the  note  inside  the  key  ? 
Why,  especially  when  the  note  was  already  written 
in  so  baffling  a  cypher  ?  Whither  had  this  ragged 
messenger  been  going  with  the  mysterious  package, 
and  who  had  sent  him,  and  why  ? 

Guessing  and  musing,  I  reached  home,  and  found 
that  Hewitt  had  returned  before  me.  I  made  my 
way  into  his  office,  and  came  on  him  sitting  at  his 
desk  with  a  large  lens,  attentively  examining  a 
broken  brass  padlock. 

"  Am  I  bothering  you  ?  "  I  asked  *  Are  you  on 
the  bond  robbery,  now  ?  " 

Martin  Hewitt  nodded,  with  a  jerk  of  the  hand 

oward  the  padlock.     "  It's  a  tough  job/'  he  said, 

"  and  I  shall  shut  myself  up  presently  and  think  hard 

over  it ;  just  now  I  can't  see  my  way  into  it  at  all. 

But  what  have  you  got  there  ?  " 

u  Never  mind,"  I  said,  "  you're  too  busy  now. 
I  came  across  something  very  odd  at  the  hospital, 
which  I  thought  would  interest  you — that's  all." 

"  Very  well,  let  me  see  it.  I  haven't  begun  my 
bout  of  cogitation  yet    Show  me," 


THE   LEVER   KEY  119 

I  put  the  envelope,  the  key  and  the  paper  on  the 
table  before  him.  Hewitt,  with  a  glance  of  surprise, 
picked  up  the  key  and  examined  it.  "That's 
curious/'  he  said,  and  straightway  began  fitting  the 
key  to  the  broken  padlock  on  the  desk. 

"Why,  man  alive  I"  he  cried,  with  a  sudden  burst 
of  excitement,  "where  did  you  get  this?  This — 
this  is  the  article — the  key — the  very  tiling  1  want  1  " 
He  sprang  to  his  teet  and  stared  in  my  face  in  sheer 
amazement.  "  Heavens,  Brett,  the  thing's  almost 
supernatural  !  I've  a  broken  lever  padlock  here, 
and  of  all  things  in  the  world  I  wanted  to  find  the 
one  key  thai  fitted  it ;  and  you  calmly  walk  in  and 
clap  down  the  very  thing  under  my  nose  I  Where 
did  you  get  it  ?  " 

J  told  him  the  tale  of  the  man  who  had  been 
knocked  down  in  Moorgate  Street,  and  1  explained 
exactly  how  the  paper,  the  key  and  the  envelope 
were  found  in  relation  to  each  other,  and  why  1  had 
brought  them. 

"  And  when  was  the  man  knocked  over  ?  "  Hewitt 
asked. 

"Some  time  between  one  and  two  o'clock,  I 
should  say,"  I  replied.  "  They  brought  him  in  well 
before  two,  at  any  rate." 

Hewitt  stared  into  vacancy  for  a  moment,  think- 
ing hard.    Then  he  said,  "  Brett,   I   believe  you've 


120  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

saved  my  reputation — not  that  it  could  have  suffered 
much,  perhaps,  in  such  a  desperate  case.  But  as  a 
fact  I  had  already  advised  the  calling  in  of  the 
police,  and  should,  perhaps,  even  have  given  up  the 
part  of  the  case  still  left  me.  But  this  ought  to  put 
me  on  the  proper  track.  You  see,  every  one  of 
these  patent  lever  locks  differs  in  some  slight  degree 
from  all  the  rest,  and  only  its  own  key  will  fit  it ; 
and  here,  by  this  amazing  piece  of  good  luck,  is 
the  one  key  for  this  very  lock,  and  the  man  who 
had  it  is  detained  in  hospital.  Come,  I'm  off  to 
see  him.    Insensible,  you  say,  when  you  left  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  and  likely  to  be  so  for  some 
time,  McCarthy  thinks  ;  so  you  probably  won't  get 
much  information  out  of  him  just  yet  But  the 
cypher " 

u  I'll  examine  the  cypher  as  I  go  along,  I  think. 
But  I  should  like  to  take  a  look  at  the  man,  at  any 
rate,  even  if  he  can't  tell  me  anything.  Will  you 
give  me  a  note  to  your  friend  McCarthy  ?  " 

"Of  course,"  I  answered,  readily,  and  sat  down 
to  scribble  the  few  lines  necessary  to  introduce 
Hewitt 

When  I  had  finished,  Hewitt,  who  had  been  ex- 
amining the  cryptogram  meanwhile,  remarked  : 
"This  cypher  is  something  out  of  the  common, 
Brett     I  certainly  don't  expect  to  be  able  to  read  it 


THE  LEVER   KEY  121 

in  the  cab-journey — perhaps  not  in  a  week  of  study. 
The  man  who  devised  this  is  a  man  of  abilities 
altogether  beyond  the  average." 

"  I  have  had  my  best  try  at  it,"  I  said,  "  but  it 
beats  me  wholly.  I  brought  it  purely  as  a  matter  of 
curiosity,  to  show  you  ;  it  was  the  merest  chance 
that  I  brought  the  key  as  well." 

"  And  if  you  hadn't  I  should  probably  have  put 
the  cypher  aside  until  the  case  was  over,  and  so  have 
missed  the  whole  thing.  Another  lesson  never  to 
despise  what  seem  like  trifles.  If  you  have  studied 
the  cypher  you  have  no  doubt  observed — but  there, 
we'll  talk  that  over  afterwards,  and  the  whole  case  if 
you  like.  I'll  go  now,  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about  the 
business  when  time  permits," 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    CASE   OF   THE    LEVER    KEY    (CONTINUED) 

Here  is  the  case  of  the  bond  robbery  as  it  had  been 
presented  to  Martin  Hewitt  that  morning,  while  I 
was  at  St.  Augustine's  Hospital,  and  as  I  learned  it 
from  him  later.  I  had  been  a  little  puzzled  to  hear 
Hewitt  say  that  the  case  had  seemed  so  desperately 
hopeless  that  he  advised  the  calling  in  of  the  police, 
because  my  experience  had  rather  been  that  it  was 
Hewitt  who  was  commonly  called  in — often  too  late 
— when  the  police  were  beaten,  and  I  had  never 
before  heard  of  a  case  in  which  this  order  of  things 
was  reversed.  It  turned  out,  however,  as  will  be 
seen,  that  in  the  state  of  the  matter  as  it  first  pre- 
sented itself  the  only  measures  that  seemed  possible 
were  such  as  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  police  alone 
to  adopt. 

Messrs.  Kingsley,  Bell,  and  Dalton  were  an  old- 
established  firm  of  brokers  whose  operations  were 
not  enormous  nor  much  in  the  eye  of  the  public, 
but  who  carried  on  a  steady  and  reputable  business 
in  a  set  of  offices  high  up  in  a  great  building  in 


THE  LEVER   KEY  123 

Broad  Street — a  building  so  large  that  the  notice 
"  Offices  to  let "  was  a  permanent  fixture  in  the  front 
porch.  The  firm's  clients  were  chiefly  steady-going 
investors  of  the  old-fashioned  sort,  who  wished  to 
avoid  all  speculative  fireworks,  and  to  deal  through 
a  firm  whose  habits  were  conformable  to  their  own. 
The  last  Kingsley  had  left  the  firm  and  soon  after- 
ward died,  some  few  years  back,  and  now  the  head 
of  the  firm  was  Mr.  Robert  Stanstead  Bell,  a  gentle- 
man of  some  sixty  years  of  age.  There  were  a 
couple  of  sleeping  partners — relations — but  the  one 
other  active  partner  was  Mr.  Clarence  Dalton,  a 
young  man  but  recently  advanced  to  partnership, 
and,  it  was  said,  likely  to  become  Mr.  Bell's  son-in- 
law  whenever  the  old  gentleman'!  daughter  Lilian 
should  be  married. 

The  steady,  even  round  of  business  to  which 
Kingsley,  Bell,  and  Dalton,  and  their  clerks  were 
accustomed  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  an  appalling 
loss.  It  was  discovered  that  bonds  were  missing 
from  the  safe,  bonds  to  the  amount  of  some  ^25,000 ; 
and  whence,  how,  or  when  they  were  taken  was  an 
utter  mystery.  It  was  this  loss  which  had  occasioned 
the  urgent  message  to  Hewitt. 

When  Hewitt  reached  the  spot  he  was  shown  at 
once  into  an  inner  office,  where  Mr.  Bell  sat  waiting. 
The  old  gentleman  was  in  a  sad  state  of  agitation, 


124  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  Hewitt  got 
from  him  a  reasonably  connected  account  of  the 
trouble. 

"  The  loss  comes  at  such  a  time,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  the 
•senior  partner  explained,  "  that  I  don't  know  but  it 
may  ruin  us  utterly,  unless  my.  clients'  property  can 
be  recovered.  We  have  had  to  pay  out  heavy  sums 
of  late  to  the  representatives  of  dead  or  retiring 
partners,  and  other  circumstances  combine  with 
these  to  make  the  matter  in  this  way  even  more 
terribly  serious  than  the  very  large  amount  of  the 
loss  would  seem  to  suggest.  So  I  beg  you  will  do 
what  you  can." 

"That  of  course,"  responded  Hewitt.  "But 
please  tell  me,  as  clearly  as  you  can,  the  precise  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case.  Where  were  the  bonds 
taken  from  ?  " 

"This  safe,"  Mr.  Bell  answered,  turning  toward  a 
very  large  and  heavy  one,  which  might  almost  have 
been  called  a  small  strong  room.  "  They  were  kept, 
together  with  others,  in  this  box,  one  of  several,  as 
you  see.  The  box  was  fastened,  like  the  rest,  with  a 
Tripp's  patent  lever  padlock,  the  only  key  of  which 
I  kept,  together  with  the  key  of  the  safe." 

The  box  indicated  was  one  of  ordinary  thin  sheet 
iron,  japanned  black — something  like  what  is  called 
a  deed  box. 


THE  LEVER  KEY  125 

"The  padlock  has  been  broken  open,  I  see/' 
Hewitt  observed. 

*  Yes,  but  I  did  that  myself  this  morning.  It  had 
been  blocked  up  in  some  way,  so  that  the  key 
wouldn't  turn— doubtless  in  order  to  cause  delay 
when  next  the  box  should  come  to  be  opened.  As 
it  was  I  might  have  desisted  and  put  off  opening  it 
till  later,  but  I  had  a  reason  for  wishing  to  refer  at 
once  to  a  list  which  was  in  the  box,  and  so  I 
decided  to  break  the  padlock.  It  was  more 
difficult  than  one  might  expect,  with  such  a  small 
padlock." 

"  And  then  you  discovered  your  loss  f  • 

*  Then  I  discovered  the  loss,  Mr.  Hewitt,  though 
it  was  a  mere  chance  even  then.  For  seel  All 
the  bonds  have  not  been  taken,  and  those  left  are 
placed  on  the  top,  while  the  space  below  is  filled 
with  dummies.  I  hardly  know  why  I  turned  them 
over — for  the  list   was  at  the  top— but  I  did,  and 

then "    Mr.    Bell    finished    with    a    despairing 

gesture. 

"  And  this  was  some  time  this  morning  t n 

44  At  about  half-past  eleven." 

"And  when  did  you  last  open  the  box  before 
that?" 

"Ten  days  ago  at  least,  I  should  think — and 
even  then  the  bonds   may  have    been   gone,  lot   i 


126  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

only    opened    it   to    refer  to   the  same  list,  and    1 
examined  nothing  else." 

"You  say  that  some   bonds  are  left  and   others 
are  gone.     I    presume    those    taken   are    such    as 
would    be    easy   to    negotiate,   and    those   left   are 
such  as  would  be  difficult.     Is  that  the  fact  ?" 
"  Precisely." 

u  Then  the  thief  evidently  knows  the  ropes,  and 
altogether  the  matter  would  seem  awkward.  For 
anything  short  of  ten  days,  you  see,  and  quite 
possibly  for  even  a  longer  time  than  that,  these 
bonds  have  been  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of 
some  person  who  could  easily  dispose  of  them, 
and  would  certainly  do  so  without  a  moment's 
delay/' 

Mr.  Bell  nodded  sadly.     *  Quite  true,"  he  said. 

"  But  now  tell  me  a  little  more.  You  say  you 
yourself  keep  the  only  key  of  the  padlock,  as  well  as 
the  key  of  the  safe.  So  that  you  open  the  safe 
every  morning  yourself  and  close  it  at  night  ?" 

44  Just  so." 

**  And  do  you  never  entrust  the  keys  to  anybody 
else  ?  " 

"  The  key  of  the  safe  is  on  a  separate  bunch  from 
the  key  of  the  box.  This  second  bunch,  with  the 
key  of  the  box,  is  always  in  my  pocket,  and  not 
a  soul  else  ever  touches  it.     The  other  bunch,  with 


THE  LEVER  KEY  127 

the  outer  key  of  the  safe,  I  sometimes  hand  to  my 
partner,  or  to  the  head  clerk,  Mr.  Foster,  if  some- 
thing is  wanted  from  the  safe  when  I  am  busy. 
Though,  as  a  rule,  the  safe  door  is  open  so  long 
as  I  am  about  the  place.  Nothing  but  the  books 
can  be  taken  out  without  the  use  of  other  keys  (or 
the  drawers  and  boxes,  which  I  keep  on  the 
private  bunch." 

11  And  would  it  be  possible  for  anybody — anybody 
at  all,  mind — to  get  at  that  private  bunch  of  keys 
in  such  a  way,  for  instance,  as  to  be  able  to  take 
a  wax  impression  of  the  key  of  that  bond-box  ?  " 

m  No,  certainly  not,"  Mr.  Bell  answered  with 
decision.  "Certainly  not.  At  any  rate,  not  in 
this  office,"  he  added. 

"Ah,  not  in  this  office.     Anywhere  else  ?" 

"No,  nor  anywhere  else,  I  should  think,"  the 
other  replied,  though  this  time  a  little  more  thought- 
fully. "  There's  only  my  own  family  at  home  and 
the  servants  and " 

"  Anybody  who  has  access  to  this  room  of  the 
office  ?  "  Hewitt  asked  keenly. 

Mr.  Bell  seemed  a  little  startled. 

"  Why,  no,"  he  said,  "  nobody  at  home  comes  to 
the  office — not  even  a  visitor,  except,  of  course, 
my  junior  partner,  who  visits  the  room  pretty  fre- 
quently." 


128  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

"  Very  well.  You  don't  remember  ever  mislaying 
the  keys  temporarily,  I  suppose,  either  here  or  at 
home  ?  " 

"  No-o,w  Mr.  Bell  replied  slowly.  u  I  can't  say 
that  I  do  remember  anything  of  the  sort.  No — 
and  I  believe  I  should  be  sure  to  remember  if  I 
had." 

"Ah  !  And  when  you  realised  your  loss  what 
did  you  do  ?     Told  your  partner  first,  I  suppose  ?  " 

u  No — he  doesn't  know  of  the  discovery.  He 
went  out  just  before  I  made  it,  and  I  don't  expect 
him  in  again  to  day."  But  as  Mr.  Bell  spoke  there 
grew  plain  in  his  face  the  pallor  of  a  new  fear. 

Martin  Hewitt  observed  it,  but  kept  his  thoughts 
to  himself.  "Well,"  he  said,  "you  didn't  tell  your 
partner.     Nor  the  police  ?  " 

"  No,  Mr.  Hewitt.  You  see,  of  course,  the  first 
thing  the  police  attempt  is  to  catch  and  punish  the 
thief,  and  they  make  the  recovery  of  the  property  a 
subsidiary  object  But  for  me,  Mr.  Hewitt,  the 
recovery  of  the  property,  as  I  have  explained,  is  the 
one  great  consideration.  Punish  the  thief  by  ail 
means,  but  first  save  me  from  ruin,  Mr.  Hewitt  I 
That  is  why  I  sent  for  you  ;  for  that,  and  because  I 
thought  it  might  be  advisable  to  keep  the  matter 
quiet,  till  you  had  taken  some  steps." 

H  There    is    something    in    that    consideration, 


THE  LEVER  KEY  129 

certainly.     So  you  have   told   nobody  of   the  loss, 
except  me  ?  " 

"  Nobody  but  Foster,  my  head  clerk — an  old  and 
faithful  servant.     It  was  he,  in  fact,  who  suggested 
sending  for  you.     As   he  put  it  very  forcibly,  youN 
can  act  for  me  and  my  interests,  while  the  police  act  rfc 
for  themselves,  and — very   properly,  of  course,  as  J 
police — in  the  interest  of  the  community." 

"  Very  well.  I  see  you  have  several  clerks  in  the 
outer  office.     Do  they  ever  come  into  this  room  ?  " 

il  Never,  unless  they  are  sent  for." 

"If  you  and  your  partner  were  out,  and  one  of  the 
clerks  came  in  without  being  sent  for,  the  rest  would 
know  it,  of  course  ?  " 

"  Certainly." 

"  I  observe  three  private  rooms  opening  out  of 
this.     What  are  they  ?" 

u  This  is  a  sort  of  extra  inner  room  where  1  have 
private  interviews  with  clients — I  was  in  there  with  a 
client  for  half  an  hour  this  morning  before  I  dis- 
covered the  loss.  The  next  is  a  mere  little  box  of 
a  room  where  the  correspondence  clerk  sits  and 
works.  The  other  is  a  larger  place — it  is  shared 
between  my  partner,  Mr.  Clarence  Dalton,  and  the 
head  clerk,  Mr.  Foster." 

"  Now  let  me  have  your  broken  padlock— and  the 
key.     I  see  you  have  forced  up  the  front   plate  with 

1 


i3o  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

a  screw-driver.  I  will  borrow  that  screw-driver,  if 
you  please,  and  force  it  off  completely." 

Hewitt's  client  produced  a  screw-driver  from  a 
drawer,  and  in  a  very  few  moments  the  interior  of 
the  little  padlock  lay  uncovered.  Hewitt  examined 
the  lock  attentively  for  some  few  minutes,  trying 
the  key  several  times  against  the  levers.  Then  he 
stood  up  and  said — 

"  Mr.  Bell,  you  have  made  a  mistake.  This  is  not 
your  lock  at  all  ! " 

"  Not  my  lock  1"  exclaimed  the  broker.  "  What 
do  you  mean  ?  I  tell  you  it  is  the  lock  of  that  box, 
and  I  broke  it  open  myself  1 " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Hewitt  calmly,  "  it  was  on  that 
box,  and  you  broke  it  open  yourself ;  but  all  the 
same  it  is  not  your  lock.  Let  me  explain.  These 
are  very  good  little  padlocks,  with  an  excellent  lever 
action,  *  dogged  against  detent/  as  the  technical 
phrase  goes ;  so  that  only  the  key  properly  made 
for  each  lock  will  open  it.  They  are  so  good, 
mdeed,  as  locks,  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to 
try  picking  them,  when,  because  of  their  small  size, 
it  is  so  very  easy  to  break  them  apart,  just  as  you 
have  done  yourself,  and  just  as  I  could  probably 
have  done  in  half  the  time,  having  had  rather  more 
experience.  Now  that  is  what  has  been  done  with 
your  lock  by  the  person  who  has  your  bunds.     But 


THE  LEVER  KEY  131 

of  course  a  broken  lock  has  one  disadvantage  as 
compared  with  a  skilfully  picked  lock — it  shows  at 
the  first  glance  what  has  happened.  In  this  case, 
Mr.  Bell,  your  lock  has  been  broken  and  taken  away, 
and  the  thief,  having  first  provided  himself  with 
another  padlock  of  precisely  the  same  make  and 
size,  has  substituted  that,  locked  it  with  its  proper 
key  and  so  left  it  I " 

"  What !    Then  that  was  why * 

u  That,  of  course,  was  why  you  supposed  it  to  be 
out  of  order  when  you  attempted  to  open  it  with 
your  key.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  even  now  in 
perfectly  good  order,  except  for  the  damage  we  have 
jointly  committed  with  the  screw-driver.  And  now, 
observe  I  That  lock  was  shut  by  another  key ;  if 
the  man  that  did  that  is  as  sharp  as  I  suppose  he  is, 
he  will  have  got  rid  of  that  key  at  once.  But 
perhaps  he  hasn't ;  and  if  not,  then  the  man  who 
has  that  key  is  the  thief.  At  any  rate,  the  key  is 
the  clue  we  must  hunt  for.  Let  us  have  your  clerks 
in  one  by  one,  and  look  at  their  keys.  Some  are 
out  at  lunch  by  this  time,  probably  ?  " 

"No — I  said  they  might  be  wanted,  so  kept  them. 
I  thought  you  might  prefer  to  see  them  before  they 
went  out." 

"Very  well  thought  of,  but  perhaps  scarcely 
judicious,   on   the    whole.     Because    if    there  is  a 


13a  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

guilty  person  among  them  it  may  give  him  a  hint ; 
and  the  odds  are  rather  against  its  being  very  useful, 
considering  the  possibility — even  probability — that 
the  bonds  and  the  collateral  evidence  left  here  days 
ago.  But  we'll  look  at  their  keys,  by  all  means,  and 
then  they  may  go  to  lunch  as  soon  as  you  please. 
Let  me  do  the  talking,  or  perhaps  you'll  start  a 
•care.  Send  for  the  nearest  clerks  first,  then  the 
others.  As  each  comes  in,  mention  his  name,  so 
that  I  can  hear  it.  Say, i  Oh,  Mr.  Brown  '—or  Jones, 
or  what  not — '  have  you  some  keys  about  you  ? ' 
Don't  mention  my  name,  and  I  will  do  the  rest. 
Push  to  the  door  of  the  safe,  and  lock  this  drawer  in 
the  table." 

Mr.  Bell  did  as  Hewitt  directed,  and  then  called 
the  head  clerk,  Mr.  Foster,  from  his  room,  with  the 
prescribed  inquiry  about  keys. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Foster,"  Hewitt  added  pleasantly,  «  I'm 
not  sure  that  the  lock  is  quite  in  order,  but  I  pro- 
mised to  open  it  for  Mr.  Bell,  so  we'll  try." 

Mr.  Foster,  a  slim,  active  old  gentleman,  grown 
grey  in  the  firm's  service,  pulled  a  bunch  of  keys 
from  his  pocket,  and  Hewitt  scrutinised  each 
narrowly.  "No,"  he  said,  "I'm  afraid  none  of 
these  will  do.  Stay,"  he  added  suddenly,  and  turn- 
ing his  back,  carried  the  bunch  to  the  window. 
"  No,"  he  concluded,  as  he  came  back  to  the  table 


THE  LEVER   KEY  133 

and  tried  one  of  the  keys  fruitlessly.  u  No,  I'm  afraid 
none  of  those  will  do.  Thank  you,  Mr.  Foster. 
You  don't  happen  to  have  any  more,  do  you  ?  * 

No,  Mr.  Foster  hadn't  any  more,  and  he  retired  to 
his  room.  Then  Mr.  Bell  called  the  correspondence 
clerk,  Mr.  Henning.  Mr.  Henning  was  a  much 
younger  man  than  the  head  clerk — twenty-six  or  so 
— pale  and  blue-eyed,  with  weak  whiskers  and  a 
straggling  moustache.  His  keys  were  just  as  readily 
produced  as  Mr.  Foster's,  but  again  Hewitt's 
examination  was  unsuccessful.  The  only  other  key 
he  had  belonged  to  the  typewriter,  and  that  did  not 
fit 

Then  came  Mr.  Potter,  the  book-keeper,  round, 
and  tubby,  and  puffy,  and  his  keys  went  under 
inspection  in  the  same  way,  taking  a  little  longer 
this  time,  with  two  separate  dashes  to  the  light  of 
the  window.  Then  there  was  Mr.  Robson,  young 
and  spruce,  Mr.  Clancy,  older  and  less  tidy,  and 
four  or  five  more.  All  the  keys  were  examined,  all 
with  the  same  lack  of  success,  and  all  the  clerks  were 
sent  away  to  take  their  turns  at  lunch. 

"  No,"  Hewitt  reported,  as  soon  as  he  and  Mr. 
Bell  were  alone  again,  "it  was  certainly  none  of 
those  keys.  Though  indeed,  my  little  attempt  was 
desperate  at  best  A  man  would  be  a  fool  to  keep 
that  key  longer  than  he  needed  it,  and  especially  to 


i34  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

string  it  with  his  others.  Still,  of  course,  it  is  by 
just  such  blunders  as  that  that  nine  criminals  out  of 
ten  are  discovered.  And  now  let  me  take  a  good 
look  at  that  box  and  its  contents." 

He  lifted  the  box  from  the  safe  to  the  table,  and 
narrowly  scrutinised  its  exterior,  especially  about 
the  hasp,  where  the  padlock  had  been.  "  Either  the 
thief  was  an  experienced  hand/'  he  said,  "or  he 
took  some  steady  practice  with  a  few  such  pad- 
locks as  this  before  setting  to  work.  There  art 
no  signs  of  banging  about  or  slipping  of  tools  any- 
where." 

u  But,  of  course,  banging  or  anything  violent 
would  have  been  noticed  in  a  place  like  this,"  Mr. 
Bell  remarked. 

*  In  office  hours,  yes,"  responded  Hewitt.  *  But 
we  mustn't  forget  that  office  hours  are  only  seven  or 
eight  out  of  the  twenty-four." 

"  But  you  don't  suspect  burglary,  do  you  ?  " 

44  I'm  afraid,  as  yet,  I've  precious  little  ground  for 
suspecting  anything  definite,"  Hewitt  answered ; 
"  but  we  must  keep  awake  to  every  possibility.  Now 
let  us  see  the  dummies."  He  turned  them  over,  and 
loosened  them  wherever  they  were  tied.  "  Yes/'  he 
remarked,  "quite  neatly  done.  Filled  in  with 
ordinary  blank  foolscap,  such  as,  no  doubt,  you 
have  in  your  office — but,  then,  it  is  in  every  other 


THE   LEVER    KEY  135 

office,  too  ;  every  stationer  has  it  by  the  ream.  No 
marks  anywhere — no  old  newspapers,  nothing  that 
could  give  the  shadow  of  a  clue."  He  dropped  the 
last  of  the  papers,  and  turned  to  his  client.  "  Mr. 
Bell,"  he  said,  *  this  tiling  has  been  thought  out  to 
the  last  inch.  There  is  something  like  genius  in 
this  robbery — if  genius  is  the  capacity  for  taking 
pains.  My  advice  to  you  is  to  call  in  the  Scotland 
Yard  people  at  once." 

"Do  you  mean  you  can  do  nothing?"  asked 
Mr.  Bell  despairingly.  "Don't  tell  me  that,  Mr. 
Hewitt  I" 

"  No,  I  don't  mean  that,"  Hewitt  answered.  u  1 
mean  that  until  I  have  had  time  to  think  the  thing 
over  very  thoroughly  I  can't  tell  what  I  can  or 
ought  to  do.  Meantime,  I  think  the  police  should 
know  ;  not  because  I  think  they  can  see  farther  into 
the  thing  than  I  can — for,  indeed,  1  don't  think  they 
can  ;  but  simply  because  the  thief  is  getting  a  longer 
start  every  moment,  and  the  police  are  armed  with 
powers  that  are  not  at  my  disposal.  They  can  get 
search  warrants,  stop  people  at  ports  and  railway 
stations,  arrest  suspects— do  a  score  of  things  that 
will  be  necessary.  Send  to  Scotland  Yard  and  get 
Detective  Inspector  Plummer,  if  he's  available — he's 
as  good  a  man  as  they  have.  Tell  him  that  you've 
engaged  me,  or,  better    still,    write    a    note  to  the 


136  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Scotland  Yard  authorities,  and  let  me  have  it,  to 
send  or  not  as  I  think  best,  after  I  have  turned  the 
thing  over  in  my  mind.  I  shall  take  one  good  look 
round  this  office,  and  then  run  back  to  my  rooms 
for  an  hour  or  two's  hard  consideration  of  whatever 
I  may  see.  One  or  two  small  things  I  have  seen 
already— though  I'd  rather  not  mention  them  till 
I've  made  up  my  mind  how  they  bear.  Matters 
seem  likely  to  have  gone  so  far  that  perhaps  the 
regular  police  course  of  catching  the  thief  first  will 
be  the  best  plan,  if  it  can  be  done.  Meantime,  it 
will  be  my  business  to  keep  my  eye  first  on  the 
recovery  of  the  bonds.  But  I  think  we  must  have 
the  police,  Mr.  Bell.  Now,  I'll  take  my  general  look 
round." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   CASE  OF   THE   LEVER   KEY    (CONTINUED) 

After  Martin  Hewitt  had  rushed  off  to  St.  Augus- 
tine's Hospital  with  the  key,  the  envelope,  and  the 
cypher  I  had  brought  him,  I  heard  nothing  of  him 
till  dusk  fell — about  six.  Then  I  received  this 
telegram : — 

44  Cypher  read.  Most  interesting  case.  If  you 
can  spare  an  hour  be  outside  120  Broad  Street 
at  six  thirty.— Hewitt." 


n 


I  had  to  be  at  my  office  between  eight  and  nine, 
and  to  keep  Hewitt's  appointment  I  should  probably 
have  to  sacrifice  my  dinner.  But  I  was  particu- 
larly curious  to  know  the  meaning  of  that  cypher, 
and  just  as  curious  to  know  how  it  could  be  read  ; 
and,  moreover,  I  knew  that  any  case  that  Hewitt 
called  interesting  would  probably  be  interesting 
above  the  common.  So  I  took  my  hat  and  sought 
a  cab. 

I  was  first  at  the  meeting-place — indeed,  a  little 


I3&  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

before  my  time.  No.  120  Broad  Street  was  a  great 
new  building  of  offices,  most,  if  not  all,  closed  at 
this  time — a  fact  indicated  by  the  shutting  of  one 
of  the  halves  of  the  big  front  door,  where  a  char- 
woman was  sweeping  the  steps  under  the  board 
which  announced  that  offices  were  to  be  let.  I 
waited  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  at 
last  a  hansom  stopped  and  deposited  Hewitt  and 
another  older  gentleman  before  me. 

"  Hope  we  haven't  kept  you  waiting,  Brett," 
Hewitt  said.  "This  is  Mr.  Bell,  of  Kingsley,  Bell 
and  Dalton ;  it  took  me  a  little  longer  than  1 
expected  to  reach  him.  His  offices  are  shut,  and 
the  clerks  all  gone,  but  we  are  going  to  turn  up  the 
lights  for  a  bit.  The  lift  man  is  gone  too,  I  expect, 
so  we  shall  have  a  good  long  stair-climb." 

As  to  the  lift  man  Hewitt  was  right,  and  during 
our  long  climb  I  received,  briefly,  an  account  of 
the  loss  Mr.  Bell's  firm  had  suffered.  "  I  have  told 
Mr.  Bell,"  Hewitt  said,  "  that  it  was  you  who  hap 
pened  across  the  key  in  such  an  odd  fashion,  and 
when  I  wired  I  was  sure  he  would  be  glad  to  let  you 
see  the  upshot  of  your  strange  bit  of  luck.  I  was 
also  pretty  sure  that  you  would  like  to  see  it,  too. 
For  I  really  believe  that  this  case — which  I  confess 
seemed  pretty  near  hopeless  a  few  hours  ago — is 
coming  to  an  issue  now,  and  here," 


THE   LEVER  KEY  139 

*  Did  you  get  any  information  out  of  the  man  in 
the  hospital  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Not  a  scrap,"  Hewitt  replied.  M  He  was  still 
insensible,  and  though  I  saw  his  clothes,  and  they 
told  me  a  good  deal  about  the  gentleman's  per- 
sonal habits — which  are  not  dazzlingly  noble,  to  put 
it  mildly — they  told  me  nothing  else  whatever, 
except  that  he  had  recently  been  knocked  down  in 
the  mud,  which  I  knew  already.  But  the  cypher 
has  told  me  something,  as  I  will  explain  presently." 

By  this  time  we  had  reached  the  high  floor  in 
which  the  offices  stood,  and  Mr.  Bell,  all  wonder 
and  pale  agitation,  unlocked  the  outer  door,  and 
turned  on  the  electric  light 

"Now,"  cried  Hewitt,  "show  me  your  ven- 
tilators!" 

There  were  some,  it  seemed,  in  the  top  panes  of 
the  windows,  but  these  were  not  what  Hewitt 
wanted.  There  were  others  in  the  form  of  upright 
chambers  or  flues,  made  of  metal,  and  painted  the 
same  colour  as  the  walls  about  them.  They  rose 
from  the  floor  in  corners  and  wall  angles,  and  could 
be  shut  or  opened  by  means  of  lids  over  their  upper 
ends.  These  were  more  to  Hewitt's  mind,  and  he 
went  about  from  one  to  another,  groping  under  the 
lids,  and  poking  down  into  the  flues  with  a  walking- 
stick.    There  was  a  wire-grating,  or  diaphragm,  it 


i4o  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

seemed,  in  each  of  them,  two  or  three  feet  down, 
and  we  could  hear  the  end  of  the  stick  raking  on 
this  at  each  investigation.  One  after  another  of 
these  ventilators  Hewitt  examined,  till  he  had 
examined  them  all,  in  outer  and  inner  rooms,  with- 
out result ;  and  I  could  see  that  he  was  disap- 
pointed. 

"There  must  be  another  somewhere,"  he  said, 
And  hunted  afresh. 

But  plainly  he  had  tried  them  all,  and  now  he 
could  do  no  more  than  try  them  all  again,  with  as 
little  result 

"It  is  a  ventilator,"  he  said,  positively.  "Un- 
less  "  he  broke  off  thoughtfully  and  stood  silent 

for  a  few  moments.  u  Ah  1  of  course  1 "  he  resumed 
presently.  "We'll  send  for  the  housekeeper  and 
a  candle.  Which  is  the  nearest  empty  office — the 
nearest  office  to  let?  Is  there  one  on  this 
floor?" 

"  I  think  not,"  Mr.  Bell  answered.  "  But  there's 
one  on  the  floor  below,  just  opposite  the  lift — I  see 
the  bill  on  the  door  every  day  as  I  come  up." 

"We'll  try  that,  then.  I'll  rake  out  every  venti- 
lator in  this  palatial  edifice  before  I'll  call  myself 
beaten.  Come,  call  the  housekeeper.  Is  there  a 
•peaking  tube  ?    Tell  him  to  bring  a  light." 

The  housekeeper  came,  wonderingly,  with  a  watch- 


THE   LEVER  KEY  141 

man's  oil-lantern,  and  we  all  went  to  the  floor  below. 
Opposite  the  lift  was  a  glass  door  from  which  a  bill 
had  recently  been  torn. 

•  Why,  it's  let ! "  said  Mr.  Bell. 

m  Yes,  sir,"  assented  the  housekeeper.  "Let  a  day 
or  two  ago  to  a  Mr.  Catherton  Hunt.  Or,  at  least,  a 
deposit  was  paid." 

"  But  see — the  door's  not  locked,"  Hewitt  ob- 
served, pushing  it  open.  u  I  think  we'll  trespass  on 
Mr.  Catherton  Hunt's  new  offices,  since  they  seem 
quite  empty,  and  he  hasn't  taken  possession.  Come 
— ventilators  1 " 

It  was  a  small  office— an  outer  room  of  moderate 
size,  and  one  smaller  inner  room.  Hewitt  at  once 
attacked  the  ventilators  in  the  larger  apartment — 
there  were  two  of  them — but  retired  disappointed 
from  each.  There  was  one  ventilator  only  in  the 
small  room.  Hewitt  tilted  the  lid,  which  was  at 
about  the  level  of  his  eyes,  thrust  in  his  hand,  and 
drew  forth  a  bundle  of  folded  papers ;  thrust  in  his 
hand  again  and  drew  forth  another  bundle ;  did  it 
again,  and  drew  forth  more  1 

Mr.  Bell  fell  upon  the  first  bundle  almost  as  a  dog 
falls  upon  a  bone  ;  and  now  he  snatched  eagerly  at 
each  successive  paper  or  bundle,  till  Hewitt  raked 
the  grating  with  his  stick,  and  declared  that  there 
were  no  more     *  Is  that  all  ?"  he  asked. 


i4a  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Mr.  Bell  went  tremblingly  from  paper  to  paper, 
and,  at  last,  said  that  he  believed  it  really  was.  "  I 
can  verify  it  by  the  list  upstairs,"  he  added,  u  if  you 
are  sure  there  are  no  more." 

u  No  more,"  repeated  Hewitt,  rattling  his  stick  in 
the  ventilator  again.  "  Let  us  go  and  verify,  by  all 
means." 

We  sent  the  puzzled  housekeeper  away,  and  re- 
turned to  the  office  above,  and  presently  Mr.  Bell, 
now  beginning  so  far  to  recover  from  his  amaze- 
ment as  to  express  incoherent  gratitude,  reported 
that  the  bonds  were  correct  and  complete  to  the  last 
and  least. 

"Very  well,"  said  Hewitt,  "then  my  part  of  the 
business  is  done,  though  I  must  say  I've  had  luck, 
or  rather,  Brett  has  had  it  for  me.  But  the  police 
must  come  on  now.  I  think,  Mr.  Bell,  we'll  go 
along  to  Scotland  Yard  when  we  leave  here.  They'll 
be  wanting  to  see  Mr.  Catherton  Hunt,  I  expect, 
whoever  he  is — and  somebody  in  your  office,  too,  if 
I'm  not  sadly  mistaken." 

"Who  ?"  gasped  Mr.  Bell. 

"  That,  perhaps,  you  can  help  to  point  out.  See 
here — do  you  know  whose  figures  they  are  ? "  and 
Hewitt  produced  the  small  slip  of  paper  containing 
the  cypher. 

"  They're  very  small,"  remarked  Mr.  Bell,  putting 


THE  LEVER  KEY  143 

on  his  glasses  ;  "  very  small  indeed ;  but  I  think — 
why  they're  Henning's,  I  do  believe  I " 

"  Ah  I  one  or  two  other  little  things  seemed  to 
point  that  way.  Henning  is  your  correspondence 
clerk,  I  believe,  and  I  expect  this  thin  little  slip  is  a 
specimen  of  your  typewriter  paper.  Have  you  any 
of  his  written  figures  for  comparison  ?  " 

44  Well  no — I  hardly  think — you  see  he  typewrites 
his  letters,  and  although  I  know  his  writing  very 
well  I  can't  at  the  moment  put  my  hand  on  any 
figures  of  his." 

"  Never  mind — if  s  mere  matter  of  curiosity  ;  the 
police  will  ask  him  questions  in  the  morning.  What 
/  believe  has  happened  is  this.  Our  friend  Henning 
— if  he's  the  man — has  a  friend  outside  a  great  deal 
cleverer  than  himself — though  he  would  seem  to 
have  his  share  of  cunning,  too.  Between  them  they 
resolved  to  rob  you  in  the  way  they  have  done — 
temporarily.  Henning  was  to  take  advantage  of  his 
position  in  that  little  inner  room  to  get  at  the  safe 
some  day  when  it  was  open  and  when  you  were 
engaged  in  your  own  private  inner  room  with  a 
client,  so  leaving  the  safe  un watched.  He  was  pro- 
vided with  a  spare  patent  padlock  and  key,  of  the 
sort  you  used  on  that  black  box,  and  his  confederate 
had  drilled  him  in  the  trick  of  breaking  that 
particular  sort  of  padlock  open,  with  other  spare 


144  THE   RED    TRIANGLE 

specimens.      He    got    his    opportunity  this    morn- 
ing/' 

"  Only  this  morning  T" 

"This  morning,  I  think,  else  we  should  never 
have  got  these  bonds  back,  nor  even  have  heard  of 
them  again.  I  think  you  said  you  were  engaged 
with  a  client  for  half  an  hour  ?  " 

"  Yes,  from  about  half-past  ten  to  eleven." 

"  That  was  his  chance,  and  he  took  it.  He  broke 
the  padlock,  took  out  the  bonds,  substituted  the 
dummies  he  had  already  prepared  in  his  own  desk, 
and  locked  the  box  again  with  the  new  padlock. 
Meantime  Hunt  had  paid  a  deposit,  pending  refer- 
ences, on  the  office  below — the  nearest  empty  room. 
Of  course,  he  wouldn't  get  the  key  until  the  tenancy 
was  finally  accepted — which  he  never  intended  it 
should  be.  But  he  easily  arranged  to  have  the  door 
left  unlocked  for  a  day  or  two,  on  some  convenient 
excuse — arranging  decorations,  or  what  not.  And 
the  bill  was  taken  down,  so  that  prospective  and 
prospecting  tenants  were  kept  away.  The  bonds 
being  stolen,  Henning  took  the  first  opportunity  of 
carrying  them  to  the  empty  office — probably  piece- 
meal— a  thing  he  could  easily  manage  almost  under 
your  nose,  before  you  were  aware  of  your  loss. 
There  he  was  to  conceal  them,  either  in  the  chimney, 
under  the   boards,  or  in  the  ventilator,  as  he  might 


THE  LEVER  KEY  145 

find  convenient — and  he  found  the  ventilator  most 
convenient  Then  he  was  to  apprise  his  confederate 
of  the  fact  that  the  robbery  had  been  effected  in 
order  that  Hunt  might  come  and  quietly  fetch  the 
plunder  away.  The  message  was  to  take  an  in- 
genious form.  Hunt  was  to  have  a  fellow  waiting 
about  in  the  street,  and  as  soon  as  Henning  could 
get  out — say  to  lunch — he  was  just  to  send  the  key  by 
this  messenger — the  key  with  which  he  had  locked 
the  new  padlock  on  the  black  box.  You  see  the 
advantages  of  that  simple  arrangement.  First,  the 
key,  which  is  evidence,  is  got  rid  of  in  a  safe  and 
effectual  way — a  thing  that  couldn't  be  done  as  well 
by  merely  flinging  it  away  on  or  near  the  premises, 
where  it  might  be  found.  Next,  the  message  is  per- 
fectly secret — the  messenger  could  never  guess  what 
the  key  meant,  nor  could  any  other  person  not  in 
the  confederate's  confidence.  And,  at  the  same  time, 
the  key  tells  all  that  is  necessary  ;  the  robbery  has 
been  effected — come  and  remove  the  plunder. 

u  But  something  unforeseen  happens.  No  sooner 
are  the  bonds  stolen  and  safely  hidden  than  you  go 
to  the  box,  find  something  wrong  with  the  lock, 
break  it  open  and  discover  the  loss.  This  was  a 
thing  that  they  trusted  would  not  happen  till  after 
the  bonds  were  safely  got  away.  More,  I  am  sent 
lor,  the  clerks  are  kept  in  from  lunch,  and  so  on. 


146  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Henning  gets  into  a  funk,  and  resolves  to  send  a 
message  of  special  urgency  to  his  confederate.  For 
that  purpose  he  uses  a  cypher  which  the  two  have 
agreed  upon — the  most  ingenious  cypher  I  have  ever 
seen  used  for  the  purpose.  He  doesn't  wish  to 
make  his  message  any  more  conspicuous  than  he 
need,  so  he  writes  his  cypher  on  this  scrap  of  paper 
and  rolls  it  inside  the  key — probably  another  ex- 
pedient agreed  upon  in  case  of  necessity.  Then 
the  key  goes  into  an  envelope,  for  greater  security 
of  the  cypher  message,  and  the  messenger  gets 
it  when  Henning  is  at  last  released  for  lunch. 
What  happened  to  the  message  we  know;  and 
here  it  is. 

44  Now  I  will  not  weary  you  with  a  detailed  account 
of  the  different  ways  in  which  1  attacked  this  cypher, 
but  I  will  take  the  shortest  possible  cut  to  the  true 
interpretation.  A  very  short  examination  of  the 
cryptogram  shows  that  while  no  number  is  included 
above  23,  the  numbers,  in  their  relative  frequency, 
roughly  agree  with  the  relative  frequency  of  the 
corresponding  letters  of  the  alphabet,  a  for  1,  6  for 
2,  and  so  on." 

Here  I  handed  Hewitt  the  pencilled  note  I  had 
made  at  the  hospital,  with  letters  substituted  for  the 
figures,  thus : — i,  h,  n,  d,  t,  r,  e,  i;  0,  s,  t,  o,  e,  i,  h,  e; 
c,  w,  0,0,4,1*,  n,  s;  s,  *,  ©,  o>  ©>  o>/,  m;  *,  %,  o,  o>  a, 


THE  LEVER   KEY  ?47 

o,  c,  »;  a,  o,  o,  o,  o,  o,  r,  §;  a,  h,  t,  k,  r,  i,  e,  t;  I,  ef 

w,  n,  nf  a,  a,  t. 

Hewitt  took  the  paper  and  went  on.  "If  that 
were  all  the  thing  would  be  childishly  simple.  But 
you  will  see  that  we  seem  as  far  from  the  solution 
as  ever  ;  for  the  letters  as  they  stand  mean  nothing, 
though  in  fact  they  are  in  normal  relative  frequency  ; 
so  that  if  they  mean  other  letters,  all  the  rules  are 
upset,  and  we  are  at  a  standstill.  I  admit  that  for  a 
long  time  the  thing  bothered  me.  But  a  peculiarity 
struck  me.  Not  only  were  the  figures,  or  letters, 
disposed  in  groups  of  eighty  but  there  were  also 
eight  such  groups — sixty-four  altogether.  What  did 
that  suggest  ?    What  but  a  chessboard  ?" 

*  A  chessboard  ?  "  I  queried. 

44  Just  so — a  chessboard.  Eight  squares  each  way 
— sixty-four  altogether.  So  I  drew  a  rough  repre- 
sentation of  a  chessboard,  and  set  out  the  letters  on 
it,  in  their  order,  like  this  : — 


i48 


THE   RED  TRIANGLE 


i 

h 

n 

d 

t 

r 

t 

i 

0 

s 

t 

o 

c 

i 

h 

e 

c 

w 

o 

o 

e 

m 

n 

s 

s 

t 

0 

0 

o 

0 

f 

a 

t 

t 

o 

o 

0 

o 

c 

V 

a 

0 

o 

o 

o 

o 

r 

t 

a 

h 

* 

k 

r 

i 

e 

t 

I 

e 

w 

n 

n 

a 

a 

t 

44  Now,  there  was  my  chessboard  with  my  letters 
on  it.  I  tried  reading  them  downward,  across,  up- 
ward and  diagonally,  in  the  direction  of  the  moves 
of  different  chess  pieces — king,  queen,  rook  and 
bishop.  Nothing  came  of  that,  whatever  I  did ;  the 
thing  was  as  unreadable  as  ever.  But  there  re- 
mained one  chess -move  to  try — the  eccentric  move 
of  the  knight;  the  move  of  one  square  forward, 
backward  or  sideways,  and  then  one  square  dia- 
gonally, or,  as  it  has  sometimes  been  more  concisely 
expressed,  the  move  to  the  next  square  but  one  of  a 
different  colour  from  that  on  which  it  rests,  I  tried 
the  knight's  move,  and  I  read  the  cypher. 

"  1  began  at  the  top  left-hand  coiner,  just  as  one 


THE  LEVER  KEY  149 

does  in  reading  a  book.  I  read  the  moves  down- 
ward— i  to  w,  e  and  h,  and  found  that  led  to  nothing. 
So  I  took  the  one  alternative  move,  and,  with  a  little 
consideration,  skipped  along  from  *  to  /  in  the  second 
line  of  squares,  t  in  the  top  line,  h  in  the  second 
line,  e  in  the  third,  r  in  the  top  and  e  in  the  second. 
That  gave  me  an  idea.  There  were  the  letters  i,  t,  t, 
followed  by  the  word  here.  I  tried  back  from  the  * 
again,  and  taking  in  the  reverse  order  the  wt  e  and  h 
which  I  had  first  given  up,  I  read  my  own  name,  as 
you  can  see  it,  from  the  h  on  the  bottom  line  but 
one,  moving  upward.  So  I  had  the  words  Hewitt 
here.  I  need  not  carry  you  through  all  the  steps, 
which  will  now  be  plain  enough  to  you.  But  I 
found  that  the  message  actually  began  in  the  right' 
hand  corner,  and  read  thus,  the  noughts  counting 
for  nothing — 

u  *  Invent  loss  disc  take  at  once  Martin  Hewitt  here 
fear  watch.' 

u  The  noughts  were  plainly  merely  inserted  to  fill 
in  unneeded  squares,  and  keep  the  rest  of  the  figures 
in  their  proper  relative  places  when  the  cypher  was 
written  in  line.  At  first  I  was  a  little  puzzled  to 
understand  what  seemed  to  be  the  first  word  invent. 
But  it  was  quite  clear  that  loss  disc  meant  i  loss  dis- 
covered/ so  I  concluded  that  here  in  the  beginning 
was  a  contraction  also,  and  that  in  was  a  separate 


150  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

word.  In  that  case  vent  could  be  a  contraction  for 
no  other  word  but  '  ventilator/  in  accordance  with 
the  sense  of  the  words.  So  I  concluded  that  the 
meaning  of  the  whole  sentence  was  simply  this: 
4  The  plunder  is  in  the  ventilator,  the  loss  is  dis- 
covered, take  away  the  booty  at  once;  Martin 
Hewitt  is  here,  and  I  fear  I  may  be  watched/ 
There  is  the  reading,  and  our  little  adventure  this 
evening  is  what  it  has  led  to. 

"  Of  course,  the  confederate  wouldn't  go  groping 
about  the  squares  so  painfully  as  I  have  had  to  do. 
To  him  the  reading  would  be  simple  enough,  for  the 
order  of  the  moves  would  be  preconcerted.  Each 
of  the  conspirators  would  have,  as  a  guide,  both  to 
reading  and  writing  the  cypher,  a  drawn  set  of 
squares,  numbered  in  the  order  of  the  moves — i 
where  we  have  the  i,  2  where  we  have  the  n,  3  where 
we  have  the  v,  and  so  on.  With  that  before  him, 
either  reading  or  writing  in  this  extraordinary 
cryptogram  would  be  easy  and  quick  enough.  And 
now  for  Scotland  Yard  1 " 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   CASE   OF   THE   LEVER   KEY    (CONTINUED) 

We  learned  late  on  the  following  day  that  Henning 
had  not  appeared  at  the  office.  From  that  we 
assumed  that  he  must  have  met  his  confederate  in 
the  evening,  and,  finding  that  he  had  not  received 
the  message  sent,  conceived  that  something  was 
wrong,  and  made  himself  safe.  The  confederate. 
Hunt,  however,  made  his  appearance  early  next 
morning,  but  escaped. 

What  happened  is  best  told  in  Plummer's  word* 
when  he  called  on  Hewitt  in  the  afternoon. 

44 1  went  round  this  morning,"  he  said,  u  as  I  said 
I  would  last  night.  I  took  a  good  man  with  me, 
and  we  got  the  dummy  bonds  that  had  been  put  in 
Bell's  box  and  popped  'em  in  the  ventilator,  where 
the  real  ones  had  been  hidden.  You  see,  we'd  got 
nothing  legal  against  Catherton  Hunt  as  yet,  but  if 
we  could  only  grab  him  with  those  dummy  bonds 
on  him  it  might  help,  with  the  other  evidence  we 
could  scrape  up  (and  especially  if  we  could  take 
Henning),  to  sustain  a  charge  of  conspiracy  to  steal. 


152  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Well,  he  came  so  quick  he  was  on  us  before  we  were 
quite  ready.  We'd  got  the  dummies  in  their  place, 
and  I  was  in  front  of  the  door  telling  my  man  the 
likeliest  corner  to  wait  in,  when  suddenly  up  pops 
the  lift  right  in  front  of  me,  with  a  gentleman  in  it — 
clean-shaven.  I  looked  at  him  and  he  looked  at  me. 
I  had  a  sort  of  distant  notion  that  I  might  have  seen 
him  before,  and  it's  pretty  certain  he  had  something 
more  than  a  distant  notion  about  me.  '  Down 
again/  he  says  to  the  lift  man,  before  the  gate  was 
swung, 4  I've  forgotten  something !'  And  down  the 
lift  went.  You'll  understand  I  had  no  idea  he  was 
the  man  we  wanted  ;  but  as  the  lift  went  down  and 
my  eyes  were  on  the  man's  face,  I  saw  who  he  was  ! 
When  he  stood  straight  before  me  I  had  no  more 
than  a  vague  notion  that  I'd  seen  him  somewhere 
before.  But  down  the  lift  went,  and  in  the  flash  of 
time  when  he'd  nearly  disappeared,  and  the  bottom 
part  of  his  face  was  hidden  by  the  sill  of  the  lift 
opening — the  part  of  his  face  where  his  beard 
had  been  when  we  met  him  last — I  saw  it  was 
Myatt  l" 

"  Myatt  ?    Good  heavens  !  * 

"Everard  Myatt,  Mr.  Hewitt,  the  man  that 
murdered  Mr.  Jacob  Mason  I  Everard  Myatt,  for 
a  thousand,  with  his  beard  shaved  1  And  we've  lost 
him  again  1     What  could  we  do  ?    We  shouted  and 


THE  LEVER  KEY  153 

ran  downstairs,  and  that  was  all.  He'd  gone,  of 
course.  And  when  we  asked  the  hall  porter  he  told 
us  that  Mr.  Catherton  Hunt  had  just  come  down 
the  lift  and  hurried  out  I* 


THE  CASE  OF  THE  BURNT  BARN 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    CASE   OF    THE    BURNT    BARN 

Everard  Myatt-— or  Catherton  Hunt — was  lost 
again.  Martin  Hewitt  had  been  wholly  successful, 
for  he  had  recovered  Mr.  Bell's  missing  bonds  ;  but 
the  police  caught  neither  of  the  conspirators.  In- 
vestigation at  Henning's  lodgings  showed  that  care- 
ful preparations  must  have  been  made  for  an 
immediate  flight  if  it  should  become  necessary,  and 
the  flight  had  taken  place.  The  man  in  the  hospital, 
who  had  been  knocked  down  in  carrying  from  one 
to  the  other  the  extraordinary  message  that  Hewitt 
deciphered,  remained  insensible  for  a  few  days,  and 
could  not  be  questioned  till  some  time  later  still. 
Then  he  professed  to  have  forgotten  all  about  the 
message  on  which  he  was  going  when  he  met  his 
accident,  and  the  medical  men  in  attendance 
informed  the  police  thai  it  was  quite  possible  that 
the  fellow's  statement  was  true.  He  said  that  he 
did  carry  messages  sometimes,  when  he  could  get  a 
job,  but  he  could  remember  nothing  of  the  message 
of  the  key,  nor  of  who  had  sent  him,  nor  where  he 


ijS  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

was  to  go.  Nevertheless,  the  police,  although  they 
professed  to  accept  his  statement,  kept  a  wary  eye 
on  him  after  his  discharge  from  the  hospital,  for 
they  had  a  very  great  suspicion  that  he  knew  more 
than  he  chose  to  tell.  But  nothing  more  was  heard 
of  the  accomplices  till  another  case  of  Martin 
Hewitt's  brought  the  news,  and  that  in  a  manner 
strange  enough. 

The  matter  began,  as  so  many  matters  of  Hewitf  s 
did,  with  the  receipt  of  a  telegram,  followed  imme- 
diately by  another.  For  the  first  having  been  handed 
in  at  a  country  office  not  very  long  before  eight  the 
previous  evening,  it  was  not  delivered  at  Hewitf s 
office  till  the  morning,  in  accordance  with  the 
ancient  manners  and  customs  observed  in  the 
telegraphic  system  of  this  country.  It  had  been 
despatched  from  Throckham,  in  Middlesex,  and  it 
was  simply  a  very  urgently  worded  request  to 
Hewitt  to  come  at  once,  signed  "Claire  Peytral." 
The  second  telegram,  which  came  even  as  Hewitt 
was  reading  the  first,  on  his  arrival  at  his  office,  ran 
thus : — 

44  Did  you  receive  telegram  ?  See  newspapers. 
Matter  life  or  death.  Would  come  personally  but 
cannot  leave  mother.    Pray  answer. — Peytral." 

The   answer   went  instantly  that    Hewitt  would 


THE  BURNT  BARN  159 

come  by  the  next  train,  for  he  had  seen  the  morning 
paper  and  from  that  knew  the  urgency  of  the  case. 
But  a  consultation  of  the  railway  guide  showed  that 
trains  to  Throckham  were  fewer  than  one  might 
suppose,  considering  the  proximity  of  the  village  to 
London,  and  that  the  next  would  leave  in  about  an 
hour  and  a  quarter  ;  so  that  I  saw  Hewitt  before  he 
started.  He  came  up  to  my  rooms,  in  fact,  as  I  was 
beginning  to  breakfast. 

*  See  here,"  he  said,  "  I  am  sent  for  in  the 
Throckham  case.     Have  you  seen  the  report  ?  " 

As  a  leader  writer,  I  had  little  business  with  the 
news  side  of  my  paper,  and  indeed  1  had  no  more 
than  a  vague  recollection  of  some  such  heading  as  : 
"  Tragedy  in  a  barn,"  in  one  evening  paper  of  the  day 
before,  and  "  Murder  at  Throckham  "  in  another.  So 
I  could  claim  no  very  exact  knowledge  of  the  affair. 

"Here  you  have  a  paper,  I  see/'  Hewitt  said, 
reaching  for  it.  M  Perhaps  their  report  is  fuller  than 
that  in  mine."  He  gave  me  his  own  newspaper  and 
began  searching  in  the  other.  "  No,"  he  said  pre- 
sently, "much  the  same.  News  agency  report  to 
both  papers,  no  doubt." 

The  report  which  I  read  ran  as  follows : — 

"Singular  Tragedy. — An  extraordinary  occur 
rence  is  reported  from  Throckham,  a  small  village 


i6o  THE    RED   TRIANGLE 

within  fifteen  miles  of  London,  involving  a  tragic 
fatality  that  has  led  to  a  charge  of  murder.  On 
Thursday  evening  an  old  barn,  for  some  time  dis- 
used, was  discovered  to  be  on  fire,  and  it  was  only 
by  extraordinary  exertions  on  the  part  of  the  villagers 
that  the  fire  was  extinguished.  Upon  an  examina- 
tion of  the  place  yesterday  morning  the  body  of  Mr. 
Victor  Peytral,  a  gentleman  who  had  lived  in  the 
neighbourhood  for  some  time,  and  who  had  been 
missing  since  shortly  before  the  discovery  of  the 
fire,  was  found  in  the  ruins.  The  body  was  burnt 
almost  beyond  recognition,  but  not  so  much  as  to 
conceal  the  fact  that  the  unfortunate  gentleman  had 
not  perished  in  the  fire,  but  had  been  the  victim  of 
foul  play.  The  throat  was  very  deeply  cut,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  murderer  must  have  fired 
the  barn  with  the  object  of  destroying  all  traces  of 
the  crime.  The  police  have  arrested  Mr.  Percy 
Bowmore,  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  house  of  the 
deceased." 

"  My  telegram,"  said  Hewitt,  "is  plainly  from  a 
relative  of  this  Mr.  Peytral  who  is  dead — perhaps  a 
daughter,  since  she  speaks  of  being  unable  to  leave 
her  mother.  In  that  case,  probably  an  only  child, 
since  there  is  no  other  to  leave." 

u  Unless  the  others  are  too  young,"  I  suggested. 


THE   BURNT   BARN  161 

"Just  so,"  Hewitt  replied.  "Well,  Brett/'  he 
added,  "  to-day  is  Saturday." 

Saturday  was,  of  course,  my  "off"  day,  and 
I  understood  Hewitt  to  hint  that  if  I  pleased  I 
might  accompany  him  to  Throckham.  "  Saturday 
it  is,"  I  said,  "  and  I  have  no  engagements.  Would 
you  care  for  me  to  come  ?  " 

"  As  you  please,  of  course.  I  can  guess  very  little 
of  the  case  as  yet,  naturally,  beyond  what  I  have 
read  in  the  paper ;  but  the  subtle  sense  of  my  ex- 
perience tells  me  that  there  is  all  the  chance  of  an 
interesting  case  in  this.  That's  your  temptation.  As 
for  myself,  I  don't  mind  admitting  that — especially 
in  these  country  cases,  where  the  resources  of 
civilisation  are  not  always  close  at  hand — I'm  never 
loth  to  have  a  friend  with  me  who  isn't  too  proud  to 
be  made  use  of.    That's  my  temptation  1 " 

No  persuasion  was  needed,  and  in  due  time  we 
set  out  together. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    CASE   OF   THE   BURNT   BARN    (CONTINUED) 

It  is  my  experience  that  places  are  to  be  found 
within  twenty  miles  of  London  far  more  rural,  far 
sleepier,  far  less  influenced  by  the  great  city  that  lies 
so  near,  than  places  thrice  and  four  times  as  far 
away.  They  are  just  too  far  out  to  be  disturbed  by 
suburban  traffic,  and  too  near  to  feel  the  influence 
of  the  great  railway  lines.  These  main  lines  go  by, 
carrying  their  goods  and  their  passengers  to  places 
tar  beyond,  and  it  is  only  by  awkward  little  branch 
lines,  with  slow  and  rare  trains,  that  any  part  of  this 
mid-lying  belt  is  reached,  and  even  then  it  is  odds 
but  that  one  must  drive  a  good  way  to  his  destina- 
tion. 

Throckham  was  just  such  a  place  as  I  speak  of, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why  we  had  such  ample 
time  to  catch  the  first  of  the  half-dozen  leisurely 
trains  by  which  one  might  reach  the  neighbourhood 
during  the  day.  The  station  was  Redfield,  and 
Throckham  was  three  miles  beyond  it 

At  Redfield  a  coachman  with  a  dogcart  awaited 


THE  BURNT  BARN  163 

Hewitt — only  one  gentleman  having  been  expected, 
as  the  man  explained,  in  offering  to  give  either  of  us 
the  reins.  But  Hewitt  wished  to  talk  to  the  coach- 
man, and  I  willingly  took  the  back  seat,  understand- 
ing very  well  that  my  friend  would  get  better  to 
work  if  he  first  had  as  many  of  the  facts  as  possible 
from  a  calm  informant  before  discussing  them  with 
the  dead  man's  relations,  probably  confused  and  dis- 
tracted with  their  natural  emotions. 

The  coachman  was  a  civil  and  intelligent  fellow, 
and  he  gave  Hewitt  all  he  knew  of  the  case  with 
perfect  clearness,  as  I  could  very  well  hear. 

"  It  isn't  much  I  can  tell  you,  sir,"  he  said,  *  be- 
yond what  I  expect  you  know.  I  suppose  you  didn't 
know  Mr.  Peytral,  my  master,  that's  dead  ?  " 

"  No.  But  he  was  a  foreigner,  I  suppose — French, 
from  the  name." 

"  Well,  no,  sir,"  the  coachman  replied,  thought- 
fully ;  u  not  French  exactly,  I  think,  though  some- 
times he  talked  French  to  the  mistress.  They  came 
from  somewhere  in  the  West  Indies,  I  believe,  and 
there's  a  trifle  of — well,  of  dark  blood  in  'em,  sir,  I 
should  think ;  though,  of  course,  it  ain't  for  me  to 
say." 

"  Yes — there  are  many  such  families  in  the  French 
West  Indies.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  Alexandre 
Dumas  ?  " 


i64  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

44  No,  sir,  can't  say  I  did." 

44  Well,  he  was  a  very  great  Frenchman  indeed, 
but  he  had  as  much  '  dark  blood '  as  your  master 
had — probably  more ;  and  it  came  from  the  West 
Indies,  too.     But  go  on." 

44  Mr.  Peytral,  you  must  understand,  sir,  has  lived 
here  a  year  or  two — I've  only  been  with  him  nine 
months.  He  talked  English  always — as  good  as  you 
or  me  ;  and  he  was  always  called  Mr.  Peytral — not 
Monsieur,  or  Signor,  or  any  o'  them  foreign  titles. 
I  think  he  was  naturalised.  Mrs.  Peytral,  she's  an 
invalid — came  here  an  invalid,  I'm  told.  She  never 
comes  out  of  her  bedroom  'cept  on  an  invalid  couch, 
which  is  carried.  Miss  Claire,  she's  the  daughter, 
an'  the  only  one,  and  she  was  hoping  you'd  ha'  been 
down  last  night,  sir,  by  the  last  train.  She's  in  an 
awful  state,  as  you  may  expect,  sir." 

"  Naturally,  to  lose  her  father  in  such  a  terrible 
way." 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  if s  wuss  than  that  even,  for  her. 
You  see,  this  Mr.  Bowmore,  that  they've  took  up, 
he's  been  sort  of  keepin'  company  with  Miss  Claire 
for  some  time,  an'  there's  no  doubt  she  was  very 
fond  of  him.  That  makes  it  pretty  bad  for  her, 
takin'  it  both  ways,  you  see." 

M  Of  course — terrible.  But  tell  me  how  the  thing 
happened,  and  why  they  took  this  Mr.  Bowmore." 


THE  BURNT   BARN  165 

"Well,  sir,  it  ain't  exactly  for  me  to  say,  and, 
of  course,  I  don't  know  the  rights  of  it,  bein'  only  a 
servant,  but  they  say  there  was  a  sudden  quarrel  last 
night  between  Mr.  Peytral  and  Mr.  Bowmore.  I  think 
myself  that  Mr.  Peytral  was  getting  a  bit  excitable 
lately,  whatever  it  was.  On  Thursday  night,  just 
after  dinner,  he  went  strolling  ofi  in  the  dusk,  alone, 
and  presently  Mr.  Bowmore — he  came  down  in  the 
afternoon — went  strolling  off  after  him.  It  seems 
they  went  down  toward  the  Penn's  Meadow  barn, 
Mr.  Peytral  first,  and  Mr.  Bowmore  catching  him  up 
from  behind.  A  man  saw  them — a  gamekeeper. 
He  was  lyin'  quiet  in  a  little  wood  just  the  other  side 
of  Penn's  Meadow,  an'  they  didn't  see  him  as  they 
came  along  together.  They  were  quarrelling,  it 
seems,  though  Grant — that's  the  gamekeeper — 
couldn't  hear  exactly  what  about ;  but  he  heard  Mr. 
Peytral  tell  Mr.  Bowmore  to  go  away.  He  'pre- 
ferred to  be  alone '  and  he'd  '  had  enough  '  of  Mr. 
Bowmore,  from  what  Grant  could  make  out.  '  Get 
out  o'  my  sight,  sir,  I  tell  you  ! '  the  old  gentleman 
said  at  last,  stamping  his  foot,  and  shaking  his  fist  in 
the  young  gentleman's  face.  And  then  Bowmore 
turned  and  walked  away." 

"One  moment,"  Hewitt  interposed.  "You  are 
telling  me  what  Grant  saw  and  heard.  How  did  it 
come  to  your  knowledge  ?  " 


i66  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

u  Told  me  hisself,  sir — told  me  every  word  yester- 
day. Told  me  twice,  in  fact.  First  thing  in  the 
morning  when  they  found  the  body,  and  then 
again  after  he'd  been  to  Redfield  and  had  it  took 
down  by  the  police.  It  was  because  of  that  they 
arrested  Mr.  Bowmore,  of  course." 

"  Just  so.  And  is  this  gamekeeper  Grant  in  the 
same  employ  as  yourself  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir  !  Mr.  Peytral's  is  only  just  an  acre 
or  two  of  garden  and  a  paddock.  Grant's  master  is 
Colonel  White,  up  at  the  Hall." 

"  Very  good.  You  were  saying  that  Mr.  Peytral 
told  Mr.  Bowmore  to  get  out  of  his  sight,  and  that 
Mr.  Bowmore  walked  away.     What  then  ?  " 

"Well,  Grant  saw  Mr.  Bowmore  walk  away,  but 
it  was  only  a  feint — a  dodge,  you  see,  sir.  He 
walked  away  to  the  corner  of  the  little  wood  where 
Grant  was,  and  then  he  took  a  turn  into  the  wood 
and  began  following  Mr.  Peytral  up,  watching  him 
from  among  the  trees.  Came  close  by  where  Grant 
was  sitting,  following  up  Mr.  Peytral  and  watching 
him  ;  and  so  Grant  lost  sight  of  'em." 

"  Did  Grant  say  what  he  was  doing  in  the 
wood  ?  " 

"He  said  he'd  found  marks  of  rabbit-snares  there, 
and  he  was  watching  to  see  if  anybody  came  to  set 
any  more," 


THE  BURNT   BARN  167 

"Yes — quite  an  ordinary  part    of    his  duty,  of 

course.     What  next  ?  * 

"  Well,  Grant  didn't  see  any  more.  He  waited  a 
bit,  and  then  moved  off  to  another  part  of  the  wood, 
and  he  didn't  notice  anything  else  particular  till  the 
barn  was  on  fire.     It  was  dark,  then,  of  course." 

"Yes — you  must  tell  me  about  the  fire.  Who 
discovered  it  ?  " 

*  Oh,  a  man  going  home  along  the  lane.  He  ran 
and  called  some  people,  and  they  fetched  the  fire- 
engine  from  the  village  and  pumped  out  of  the  horse- 
pond  just  close  by.  It  was  pretty  much  of  a  wreck 
by  the  time  they  got  the  fire  out,  but  it  wasn't  all  gone, 
as  you  might  have  expected.  You  see,  it  had  beere 
out  of  use  for  some  time,  sir,  and  there  was  mostly 
nothing  but  old  broken  ploughs  and  lumber  there  ; 
and  what's  more,  there  was  a  deal  of  rain  early  in 
the  week,  as  you  may  remember,  sir,  so  the  thatch 
was  pretty  sodden,  being  out  o'  repair  and  all — and 
so  was  the  timber,  for  the  matter  o'  that,  for  there's 
no  telling  when  it  was  last  painted.  So  the  fire 
didn't  go  quite  so  fierce  as  it  might,  you  see  ;  else  I 
should  expect  it  had  been  all  over  before  they  got  to 
work  on  it." 

"  Not  at  all  a  likely  sort  of  place  to  catch  fire,  it 
would  seem,  either,"  Hewitt  commented.  "Old 
ploughs  and  such  lumber  are  not  very  combustible/' 


168  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

44  Quite  so,  sir ;  that's  what  makes  'em  think  it  so 
odd,  I  suppose.  But  there  was  a  bundle  or  two  of 
old  pea-straw  there,  shied  in  last  summer,  they  say, 
being  over  bundles  from  the  last  load,  and  there 
left." 

u  And  when  was  Mr.  Bowmore  seen  next  ?  " 

44  He  came  strolling  back,  sir,  and  told  the  young 
lady  he'd  left  her  father  outside,  or  something  of 
that  sort,  I  think;  said  nothing  of  the  quarrel,  I 
believe.  But  he  said  the  barn  was  on  fire — which 
he  must  have  known  pretty  early,  sir,  for  'tis  a  mile 
from  the  house  off  that  way  "  ;  and  the  coachman 
pointed  with  his  whip. 

44  Nothing  was  suspected  of  the  murder,  it  seems, 
till  yesterday  morning  ?  " 

u  No,  sir.  Miss  Claire  got  frightful  worried  when 
her  father  didn't  come  home,  as  you  would  expect, 
and  specially  at  him  not  coming  home  all  night.  But 
when  the  fire  was  quite  put  out,  o'  course  the  people 
went  away  home  to  bed,  and  it  wasn't  till  the 
norning  that  anybody  went  in  to  turn  the  place  over. 
Then  they  found  the  body." 

"  Badly  burnt,  1  believe  ?  " 

44  Horrid  burnt,  sir.  If  it  wasn't  for  Mr.  Peytral's 
being  missing,  I  doubt  if  they'd  have  known  it  was 
him  at  all.  It  took  a  doctor's  examination  to  see 
clear  that  the  throat  had  been  cut.     But  cut  it  had 


THE   BURNT  BARN  169 

been,  and  deep,  so  the  doctor  said.  And  now  the 
body's  gone  over  to  Redfield  mortuary." 

Hewitt  asked  a  few  questions  more,  and  got 
equally  direct  answers,  except  where  the  coachman 
had  to  confess  ignorance.  But  presently  we  were 
at  the  house  to  which  Hewitt  had  been  sum- 
moned. 

It  was  a  pleasant  house  enough,  standing  alone, 
apart  from  the  village,  a  little  way  back  from  a  loop 
of  road  that  skirted  a  patch  of  open  green.  As  we 
came  in  at  the  front  gate,  I  caught  an  instant's 
glimpse  of  a  pale  face  at  an  upper  window,  and 
before  we  could  reach  the  drawing-room  door  Miss 
Claire  Peytral  had  met  us. 

She  was  a  young  lady  of  singular  beauty,  which 
the  plain  signs  of  violent  grief  and  anxiety  very  little 
obscured.  Her  complexion,  of  a  very  delicate  ivory 
tinge,  was  scarcely  marred  by  the  traces  of  sleepless- 
ness and  tears  that  were  nevertheless  clear  to  see. 
Her  eyes  were  large  and  black,  and  her  jetty  hair 
had  a  slight  waviness  that  was  the  only  distinct  sign 
about  her  of  the  remote  blend  of  blood  from  an 
inferior  race. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  she  cried,  *  I  am  so  glad  you 
have  come  at  last  1  I  have  been  waiting — waiting 
so  long  1  And  my  poor  mother  is  beginning  to 
suspect  1 " 


170  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

"You have  not  told  her,  then  tm 

"  No,  it  will  kill  her  when  she  knows,  I'm  sure- 
kill  her  on  the  spot.  I  have  only  said  that  father  is 
ill  at— at  Redfield.    Oh,  what  shall  Ido?" 

The  poor  girl  seemed  on  the  point  of  breakdown, 
and  Hewitt  spoke  sharply  and  distinctly. 

"What  you  must  do  is  this,"  he  said.  u  You  must 
attend  to  me,  and  tell  me  all  I  want  to  know  as 
accurately  and  as  tersely  as  you  can.  In  that  case 
I  will  do  whatever  I  can,  but  if  you  give  way  you 
will  cripple  me.  It  all  depends  on  you,  remember. 
This  is  my  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Brett,  who  is  good 
enough  to  offer  to  help  us.  Now,  first,  I  think  I 
know  the  heads  of  the  case,  from  the  newspapers, 
and,  more  especially,  from  your  coachman.  But 
when  you  sent  for  me,  no  doubt  you  had  some 
definite  idea  or  intention  in  your  mind.  What  was 
it?" 

"  Oh,  he  is  innocent,  Mr.  Hewitt — he  is,  really  ! 
The  only  friend  I  have  in  the  world — the  only  friend 
we  all  have  ! " 

"  Steady — steady,"  Hewitt  said,  pressing  her  kindly 
and  firmly  into  a  seat.  "  You  must  keep  steady,  you 
know,  if  I  am  to  do  anything.  I  expected  that 
would  be  your  belief.  Now  tell  me  why  you  are  so 
sure." 

u  Mr.  Hewitt,  if  you  knew  him  you  wouldn't  ask. 


THE  BURNT   BARN  171 

He  would  never  injure  my  poor  father — he  went  out 
after  him  purely  out  of  kindness,  because  I  was 
uneasy.  He  would  never  hurt  him,  Mr.  Hewitt, 
never,  never !  I  can't  say  it  strongly  enough — 
he  never  would  1  Oh  1  my  poor  father,  and 
now • 

•  Steady  again  1 "  cried  Hewitt,  more  sharply  still. 
I  could  see  that  he  feared  the  hysterical  breakdown 
that  might  come  at  any  moment  after  the  lengthened 
suspense  Miss  Peytral  had  suffered.  u  Listen,  now 
— you  mustn't  frighten  yourself  too  much.  If  Mr. 
Bowmore  is  innocent — and  you  say  you  are  so 
certain  of  it — then  I've  no  doubt  of  finding  a  way  to 
prove  it  if  only  you'll  make  your  best  effort  to  help 
me,  and  keep  your  wits  about  you.  As  far  as  I  can 
see  at  present  there's  nothing  against  him  that  we 
need  be  afraid  of  if  we  tackle  it  properly,  and,  of 
course,  the  police  make  arrests  of  this  sort  by  way 
of  precaution  in  a  case  like  this,  on  the  merest  hint 
Come  now,  you  say  you  were  uneasy  when  your 
father  went  out  after  dinner  on  Thursday  night 
Why?" 

"I  don't  know,  quite,  Mr.  Hewitt  It  was  my 
mother  that  was  uneasy,  really,  about  something 
she  never  explained  to  me.  My  father  had  taken  to 
going  out  in  the  evening  after  dinner,  just  in  the 
way  he  did  on  Thursday  night    I  don't  know  why, 


i7»  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

but  I  think  it  had  something  to  do  with  my  mother's 
anxiety." 

"  Did  he  dress  for  dinner  f  " 

"  No,  not  lately.  He  used  to  dress  always,  but  he 
has  dropped  it  of  late." 

Hewitt  paused  for  a  moment,  thoughtfully.  Then 
he  said,  u  Mrs.  Peytral  is  an  invalid,  I  know,  and  no 
doubt  none  the  better  for  her  anxiety.  But  if  it 
could  be  managed  I  should  like  to  ask  her  a  few 
questions.    What  do  you  think  ?" 

But  this  Miss  Peytral  was  altogether  against.  Her 
mother  was  suffering  from  spinal  complaint,  it 
appeared,  with  very  serious  nervous  complications, 
and  there  was  no  answering  for  the  result  of  the 
smallest  excitement.  She  never  saw  strangers,  and, 
if  it  could  possibly  be  avoided,  it  must  be  avoided 
now. 

"  Very  well,  Miss  Peytral,  I  will  first  go  and  look 
at  some  things  I  must  see,  and  I  will  do  without 
your  mother's  help  as  long  as  I  possibly  can.  But 
now  you  must  answer  a  few  more  questions  your- 
self, please." 

Hewitt's  questions  produced  little  more  sub- 
stantial information,  it  seemed  to  me,  than  he  had 
already  received.  Mr.  Peytral  had  taken  the  house 
in  which  we  were  sitting — it  was  called  "The 
Lodge"  simply — two  years   ago.     Before   that  the 


THE  BURNT  BARN  173 

family  had  lived  in  Surrey,  but  they  had  not  moved 
direct  from  there  ;  there  was  a  journey  to  America 
between,  on  some  business  of  Mr.  Peytral's,  and  it 
was  on  the  return  voyage  that  they  had  met  Mr. 
Percy  Bowmore.  Mr.  Bowmore  had  no  friends 
nearer  than  Canada,  and  he  was  reading  for  the 
Bar — in  a  very  desultory  way,  as  I  gathered.  Miss 
Peytral's  childhood  had  been  passed  in  the  West 
Indies,  at  the  town  of  San  Domingo,  in  fact,  where 
her  father  had  been  a  merchant.  Her  mother  had 
been  a  helpless  invalid  ever  since  Miss  Peytral  could 
remember.  As  to  the  engagement  with  Bowmore, 
it  would  seem  to  have  had  the  full  approval  of  both 
parents  all  along.  But  a  rather  curious  change  had 
come  over  her  father,  she  thought,  a  few  months 
ago.  What  it  was  that  had  caused  it  she  could  not 
say,  but  he  grew  nervous  and  moody,  often  absent- 
minded,  and  sometimes  even  short-tempered  and 
snappish,  a  thing  she  had  never  known  before. 
Also  he  read  the  daily  papers  with  much  care  and 
eagerness.  It  was  plain  that  Miss  Peytral  had  no 
idea  of  any  cause  which  might  have  led  to  a  quarrel 
between  Bowmore  and  her  father,  and  Hewitt's 
most  cunning  questions  failed  to  elicit  the  smallest 
suggestion  of  reason  for  such  an  occurrence. 

Ten  days  or  so  ago,    Mr.  Peytral    had    returned 
from  a  short  walk  after  dinner,  very  much  agitated  ; 


174  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

and  from  that  day  he  had  made  a  practice  of  going 
out  immediately  after  dinner  every  evening  regularly, 
walking  off  across  the  paddock,  and  so  away  in  the 
direction  of  Penn's  Meadow.  The  first  visit  of 
Percy  Bowmore  after  this  practice  had  begun  was 
on  Thursday,  but  the  presence  of  the  visitor  made 
no  difference,  as  Miss  Peytral  had  expected  it  would. 
Her  father  rose  abruptly  after  dinner  and  went  off 
as  before ;  and  this  time  Mrs.  Peytral,  who  had  been 
brought  down  to  dinner,  displayed  a  singular  un- 
easiness about  him.  She  had  experienced  the  same 
feeling,  curiously  enough,  on  other  occasions,  Miss 
Peytral  remarked,  when  her  husband  had  been 
unwell  or  in  difficulties,  even  at  some  considerable 
distance.  This  time  the  feeling  was  so  strong  that 
she  begged  Bowmore  to  hurry  after  Mr.  Peytral  and 
accompany  him  in  his  walk.  This  the  young  man 
had  done ;  but  he  returned  alone  after  a  while, 
saying  simply  that  he  had  lost  sight  of  Mr.  Peytral, 
whom  he  had  supposed  might  have  come  home  by 
some  other  way ;  and  mentioning  also  that  he  had 
been  told  that  Penn's  Meadow  barn  was  on  fire. 

When  it  grew  late,  and  Mr.  Peytral  failed  to 
return,  Bowmore  went  out  again  and  made  inquiry 
in  all  directions.  It  grew  necessary  to  concoct  a 
story  to  appease  Mrs.  Peytral.  who  had  been  taken 
back  to  her  bedroom.     Bowmore  spent  the  whole 


THE   BURNT  BARN  175 

night  in  fruitless  search  and  inquiry,  and  then,  with 
the  morning,  came  the  terrible  news  of  the  discovery 
in  the  burnt  barn ;  and  late  in  the  afternoon  Bow- 
more  was  arrested. 

The  poor  girl  had  a  great  struggle  to  restrain  her 
feelings  during  the  conversation,  and,  at  its  close, 
Hewitt  had  to  use  all  his  tact  to  keep  her  going. 
Physical  exhaustion,  as  well  as  mental  trouble,  were 
against  her,  and  stimulus  was  needed.  So  Hewitt 
said,  "  Now  you  must  try  your  best,  and  if  you  will 
keep  up  as  well  as  you  have  done  a  little  longer, 
perhaps  I  may  have  good  news  for  you  soon.  I 
must  go  at  once  and  examine  things.  First,  I 
should  like  to  have  brought  to  me  every  single  pair 
of  boots  or  shoes  belonging  to  your  father.  Send 
them,  and  then  go  and  look  after  your  mother. 
Remember,  you  art  helping  ill  the  time." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE    CASE   OF   THE   BURNT    BARN    (CONTINUED) 

Hewitt  examined  the  boots  and  shoes  with  great 
rapidity,  but  with  a  singularly  quick  eye  for 
peculiarities. 

H  He  liked  a  light  shoe/'  he  said,  "and  he  preferred 
to  wear  shoes  rather  than  boots.  There  are  few 
boots,  and  those  not  much  worn,  although  he  was 
living  in  the  country.  Trod  square  on  the  right 
foot,  inward  on  the  left,  and  wore  the  left  heel  more 
than  the  right.  If s  plain  he  hated  nails,  for  these 
are  all  hand-sewn,  with  scarcely  as  much  as  a  peg 
visible  in  the  lot;  and  they  are  all  laced,  boots  and 
shoes  alike.  Come,  this  is  the  best-worn  pair  ;  it  is 
also  a  pair  of  the  same  sort  the  maid  tells  me  he 
must  have  been  wearing,  since  they  are  missing; 
low  shoes,  laced  ;  we'll  take  them  with  us." 

We  left  the  house  and  sought  our  friend  the 
coachman.  He  pointed  out  quite  clearly  the  path 
by  which  his  master  had  gone  on  his  last  walk  ; 
showed  us  the  gate,  still  fastened,  over  which  he  had 
climbed  to  gain  the  adjoining  meadow,  and  put  us 


THE   BURNT  BARN  177 

in  the  way  of  finding  the  small  wood  and  the 
barn. 

Both  within  and  without  the  gate  there  was  a 
small  patch  bare  of  grass,  worn  by  feet ;  and  here 
Martin  Hewitt  picked  up  his  trail  at  once. 

"The  ground  has  hardened  since  Thursday  night," 
he  said ;  "  and  so  much  the  better — it  keeps  the 
marks  for  us.     Do  you  see  what  is  here  ?  " 

There  were  footmarks,  certainly,  but  so  beaten 
and  confused  that  I  could  make  nothing  of  them. 
Hewitt's  practised  eye,  however,  read  them  as  I  might 
have  read  a  rather  illegibly  written  letter. 

"  Here  is  the  right  foot,  plain  enough,"  he  said, 
carefully  fitting  the  shoe  he  had  brought  in  the 
mark.  "He  alighted  on  that  as  he  came  over  the 
gate.  Half  over  it  is  another  footmark — Bowmore's, 
I  expect,  for  I  can  see  signs  of  others,  in  both  direc- 
tions— going  and  coming.  But  we  shall  know  better 
presently." 

He  rose,  and  we  followed  the  irregular  track 
across  the  meadow.  Like  most  such  field-tracks,  its 
direction  was  plainly  indicated  by  the  thin  and 
beaten  grass,  with  a  bare  spot  here  and  there. 
Hewitt  troubled  to  take  no  more  than  a  glance  at 
each  of  these  spots  as  we  passed,  but  that  was  all  he 
needed.  The  meadow  was  bounded  by  a  hedge, 
with  a  stile;  and  at  the   farther  side  of   this  stile 


178  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

my  friend  knelt  again,  with  every  sign  of  atten- 
tion. 

"A  little  piece  of  luck,"  he  reported.  "The  left 
shoe  has  picked  up  a  tiny  piece  of  broken  thorn-twig 
just  here.  See  the  mark  ?  The  shoe  was  a  little 
soddened  in  the  sole  by  this  time,  and  the  thorn 
stuck.  I  hope  it  stuck  altogether.  If  it  did  it  may 
help  us  wonderfully  when  we  get  to  the  barn,  for 
the  trouble  there  will  be  the  trampling  all  round  of 
the  people  at  the  fire." 

So  we  went  on  till  we  reached  the  edge  of  the 
little  wood.  The  field-path  skirted  this,  and  here 
Hewitt  dropped  on  his  knees  and  set  to  work  with 
great  minuteness. 

44  Keep  away  from  the  track,  Brett,"  he  warned 
me,  "  or  you  may  make  it  worse.  The  police  have 
been  here,  I  see,  and  quite  recently,  coming  from 
the  direction  of  Redfield.  Here  are  two  pairs  of 
unmistakable  police  boots  and  another  heavy  pair 
with  them ;  no  doubt  they  brought  the  game- 
keeper along  with  them,  to  have  things  fully  ex- 
plained." 

From  the  corner  of  the  wood  to  a  point  forty  yards 
along  the  path ;  back  to  the  corner  again,  and  then 
into  the  wood  Hewitt  went,  carefully  examining 
every  inch  of  the  ground  as  he  did  so.  Then  at 
last  1m  rejoined  me. 


THE   BURNT  BARN  179 

*  1  think  the  gamekeeper  hat  told  the  truth/'  he 
said.  "  It's  pretty  plain,  thanks  to  the  soft  ground 
hereabout,  notwithstanding  the  policemen's  boots. 
Here  they  came  together — the  thorn-twig  sticks  to 
the  shoe  still,  you  see — and  here  they  stopped.  The 
marks  face  about,  and  Bowmore's  steps  are  retraced 
to  the  corner  of  the  wood.  Peytral's  turn  again 
and  go  on,  and  Bowmore's  turn  into  the  edge  of 
the  wood  and  come  along  among  the  trees.  You 
don't  see  them  in  the  grassy  parts  quite  as  well  as 
I  do,  I  expect,  but  there  they  are.  We'll  keep  after 
Peytral's  prints.  Bowmore's  come  back  in  the  same 
track,  I  see." 

The  next  stile  led  to  Penn's  Meadow.  This 
meadow — a  large  one — stretched  over  a  rather  steep 
hump  of  land,  at  the  other  side  of  which  the  barn 
stood.  From  the  stile  two  paths  could  be  discerned 
— one  rising  straight  over  the  meadow  in  the 
direction  of  the  barn,  and  the  other  skirting  it  to 
the  left,  parallel  with  the  hedge. 

*  Here  the  footprints  part,"  Hewitt  observed, 
musingly  ;  "  and  what  does  that  mean  ?  Manoeuvring 
— or  what  ?  " 

He  thought  a  moment,  and  then  went  on  :  *  We'll 
leave  the  tracks  for  the  present  and  see  the  barn. 
That  is  straight  ahead,  T  take  it." 

When  we  reached  the  top  of   the  rise  the  barn 


180  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

came  in  view,  a  blackened  and  sinister  wreck.  The 
greater  part  of  the  main  structure  was  still  standing, 
and  even  part  of  the  thatched  roof  still  held  its 
place,  scorched  and  broken.  Off  to  the  right  from 
where  we  stood  the  village  roofs  were  visible,  giving 
indication  of  the  position  of  the  road  to  Redfield. 
A  single  human  figure  was  in  sight — that  of  a  police- 
man on  guard  before  the  barn. 

"  Now  we  must  get  rid  of  that  excellent  fellow," 
said  Hewitt,  "  or  he'll  be  offering  objections  to  the 
examination  I  want  to  make.  I  wonder  if  he  knows 
my  name  ?  " 

We  walked  down  to  the  barn,  and  Hewitt,  assum- 
ing the  largest  possible  air,  addressed  the  police- 
man. 

u  Constable,"  he  said,  u  I  am  here  officially — here 
is  my  card.  Of  course  you  will  know  the  name  if  you 
have  had  any  wide  experience — London  experience 
especially.  I  am  looking  into  this  case  on  behalf  of 
Miss  Peytral— co-operating  with  the  police,  of  course. 
Where  is  your  inspector  ?  " 

He  was  a  rather  stupid  countryman,  this  police- 
man, but  he  was  visibly  impressed— even  flurried — 
by  Hewitt's  elaborate  bumptiousness.  He  saluted, 
tried  to  look  unnaturally  sagacious,  and  confessed 
that  he  couldn't  exactly  say  where  the  inspector  was, 
things  being  put  about  so  just  now.    He  might  be  in 


THE  BURNT  BARN  181 

Throckham  village,  but  more  likely  he  was  at  Red- 
field. 

"Ah  1 "  Hewitt  replied,  with  condescension. 
"  Now,  if  he  is  in  the  village,  you  will  oblige  me, 
constable,  by  telling  him  that  I  am  here.  If  he  is 
not  there,  you  will  return  at  once.  I  will  be 
responsible  here  till  you  come  back.  Don't  be  very 
long,  now." 

The  man  was  taken  by  surprise,  and  possibly  a 
trifle  doubtful.  But  Hewitt  was  so  extremely  lofty 
and  so  very  peremptory  and  official,  that  the  inferior 
intelligence  capitulated  feebly,  and  presently,  after 
another  uneasy  salute,  the  village  policeman  had 
vanished  in  the  direction  of  the  road.  The  moment 
he  had  disappeared  Hewitt  turned  to  the  ruined  barn. 
The  door  was  gone,  and  the  scorched  and  charred 
lumber  that  littered  the  place  had  a  look  of  absolute 
ghostliness  —  perhaps  chiefly  the  effect  of  my 
imagination  in  the  knowledge  of  the  ghastly  tragedy 
that  the  place  had  witnessed.  Well  in  from  the 
doorway  was  a  great  scatter  of  light  ashes — plainly 
the  pea-straw  that  the  coachman  had  spoken  of. 
And  by  these  ashes  and  partly  among  them,  marked 
in  some  odd  manner  on  the  floor,  was  a  horrible 
black  shape  that  I  shuddered  to  see,  as  Hewitt 
pointed  it  out  with  a  moving  forefinger,  which  he 
Biade  to  trace  the  figure  of  a  prostrate  human  form. 


iSi  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

44  Did  you  never  see  that  before  in  a  burnt  house  ?  * 
Hewitt  asked  in  a  hushed  voice.  "I  have,  more 
than  once.  That  sort  of  thing  always  leaves  a 
strange  stain  under  it,  like  a  shadow." 

But  business  claimed  Martin  Hewitt,  and  he 
stepped  carefully  within.  Scarcely  had  he  done 
so,  when  he  stood  suddenly  still,  with  a  low 
whistle,  pointing  toward  something  lying  among 
the  dirt  and  ashes  by  the  foot  of  that  terrible 
shape. 

44  See  ?  "  he  said.  "  Don't  disturb  anything,  but 
look!" 

I  crept  in  with  all  the  care  I  could  command,  and 
stooped.  The  place  was  filled  with  such  a  vast  con- 
fusion of  lumber  and  cinder  and  ash  that  at  first  I 
failed  to  see  at  all  what  had  so  startled  Hewitt's 
attention.  And  even  when  I  understood  his  direction, 
all  I  saw  was  about  a  dozen  little  wire  loops,  each  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  long  or  less,  lying  among  a  little 
grey  ash  that  clung  about  the  ends  of  some  of  the 
loops  in  clots.  Even  as  I  looked  another  thing 
caught  Hewitt's  eye.  Among  the  straw-ashes  there 
lay  some  cinders  of  paper  and  card,  and  near  them 
another  cinder,  smaller,  and  plainly  of  some  other 
substance.  Hewitt  took  my  walking-stick,  and 
turned  this  cinder  over.  It  broke  apart  as  he  did 
so,  and  from  within  it  two  or  three  little  charred 


THE  BURNT  BARN  183 

sticks  escaped.  Hewitt  snatched  one  up  and 
scrutinised  it  closely. 

"  Do  you  see  the  tin  ferrule  ? "  he  said.  *  It  has 
been  a  brush  ;  and  that  was  a  box  of  colours  1 " 
He  pointed  to  the  cinder  at  his  feet.  "That  being 
«o,"  he  went  on,  "  that  paper  and  card  was  probably 
a  sketch-book.  Brett  I  come  outside  a  bit  There's 
something  amazing  here  1 " 

We  went  outside,  and  Hewitt  faced  me  with  a 
curious  expression  that  for  the  life  of  me  I  could 
not  understand. 

"  Suppose,"  he  said,  "  that  Mr.  Victor  Peytral  is  not 
dead  after  all  t  " 

"Not  dead?"  1  gasped;  "but— but  he  is  1  We 
know " 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  Hewitt  pursued,  with  his  eyes 
still  fixed  on  mine,  M  that  we  know  very  little  indeed 
of  this  affair,  as  yet.  The  body  was  unrecognisable, 
or  very  near  it.  You  remember  what  the  coachman 
said  ?  '  If  it  wasn't  for  Mr.  Peytral's  being  missing/ 
he  said,  '  I  doubt  if  they'd  have  known  it  was  him  at 
all.'  I  think  those  were  his  exact  words.  More,  you 
must  remember  that  the  body  has  not  been  seen  by 
either  of  Peytral's  relatives." 

"But  then,"  I  protested,  "if  it  isn't  his  body 
whose  is  it  ?" 

"Ah,  indeed,"  Hewitt  responded,  "whose  is  it 


i84  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Don't  you  see  the  possibilities  of  the  thing  ?  There's 
a-  col3ur-box  and  a  sketch-book  burned.  Who 
carried  a  colour-box  and  a  sketch-book  ?  Not 
Peytral,  or  we  should  have  heard  of  it  from  his 
daughter  ;  she  made  a  particular  point  of  her  father's 
evening  strolls  being  quite  aimless,  so  far  as  her 
knowledge  or  conjecture  went ;  she  knew  nothing 
of  any  sketching.  And  another  thing — don't  you 
see  what  those  things  mean  ?  "  He  pointed  toward 
the  place  of  the  little  wire  loops* 

*  Not  at  all." 

"  Man,  don't  you  see  they've  been  boot-buttons  1 
When  the  boots  shrivelled,  the  threads  were  burnl 
and  the  buttons  dropped  off.  Boot-buttons  are 
made  of  a  sort  of  composition  that  burns  to  a  grey 
ash,  once  the  fire  really  gets  hold  of  them — as  you 
may  try  yourself,  any  time  you  please.  You  can  see 
the  ash  still  clinging  to  some  of  the  shanks ;  and 
there  the  shanks  are,  lying  in  two  groups,  six  and  six. 
as  they  fell  1     Now  Peytral  came  out  in  laced  shoes." 

u  But  if  Peytral  isn't  dead,  where  is  he  ?  " 

u  Precisely,"  rejoined  Hewitt,  with  the  curious  ex- 
pression still  in  his  eyes,  u  As  you  say,  where  is  he  ? 
And  as  you  said  before,  who  is  the  dead  man  ?  Who 
is  the  dead  man,  and  where  is  Peytral,  and  why  has 
he  gone  ?  Don't  you  see  the  possibilities  of  the  case 
nowf" 


THE  BURNT  BARN  185 

Light  broke  upon  me  suddenly.  I  saw  what 
Hewitt  meant.  Here  was  a  possible  explanation  of 
the  whole  thing — Peytral's  recent  change  of  temper, 
his  evening  prowlings,  his  driving  away  of  Bowmore, 
and  lastly,  of  his  disappearance — his  flight,  as  it  now 
seemed  probable  it  was.  The  case  had  taken  a 
strange  turn,  and  we  looked  at  one  another  with 
meaning  eyes.  It  might  be  that  Hewitt,  begged  by 
the  unhappy  girl  we  had  but  just  left  to  prove  the 
innocence  of  her  lover,  would  by  that  very  act  bring 
her  father  to  the  gallows, 

44  Poor  girl  1 "  Hewitt  murmured,  as  we  stood 
staring  at  one  another.  u  Better  she  continued  to 
believe  him  dead,  as  she  does  1  Brett,  there's  many 
a  good  man  would  be  disposed  to  fling  these  proofs 
away  for  the  girl's  sake  and  her  mother's,  seeing 
how  little  there  can  be  to  hurt  Bowmore.  But 
justice  must  be  done,  though  the  blow  fall — as  it 
commonly  does — on  innocent  and  guilty  together. 
See,  now,  I've  another  idea.  Stay  on  guard  while  I 
try." 

He  hurried  out  toward  the  farther  side  of  the 
broad  band  of  trampled  ground  which  surrounded 
the  burnt  barn,  and  began  questing  to  and  fro,  this 
way  and  that,  receding  farther  from  me  as  he  went, 
and  nearing  the  horse-pond  and  the  road.  At  last 
he  vanished  altogether,  and  left  me  alone  with  the 


186  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

burnt  barn,  my  thoughts,  and — that  dim  Shape  on 
the  barn  floor.  It  was  broad  day,  but  I  felt  none 
too  happy ;  and  I  should  not  have  been  at  all  anxious 
to  keep  the  police  watch  at  night. 

Perhaps  Hewitt  had  been  gone  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  perhaps  a  little  more,  when  I  saw  him  again, 
hurrying  back  and  beckoning  to  me.  I  went  to  meet 
him. 

"  It's  right  enough,"  he  cried.  *  I've  come  on  his 
trail  again  I  There  it  is,  thorn-mark  and  all,  by  the 
roadside,  and  at  a  stile — going  to  Redfield — probably 
to  the  station.  Come,  we'll  follow  it  up  !  Where's 
that  fool  of  a  policeman  ?  Oh,  the  muddle  they  can 
make  when  they  really  try  I " 

"  Need  we  wait  for  him  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Yes,  better  now,  with  those  proofs  lying  there ; 
and  we  must  tell  him  not  to  be  bounced  off  again  as 
I  bounced  him  off.    There  he  comes  1 " 

The  heavy  figure  of  the  local  policeman  was  visible 
in  the  distance,  and  we  shouted  and  beckoned  to 
hurry  him.  Agility  was  no  part  of  that  policeman's 
nature,  however,  and  beyond  a  sudden  agitation  of 
his  head  and  his  shoulders,  which  we  guessed  to  be 
caused  by  a  dignified  spasm  of  leisurely  haste,  we 
saw  no  apparent  acceleration  of  his  pace. 

As  we  stood  and  waited  we  were  aware  of  a  sound 
of  wheels  from  the  direction  of  Redfield,  and  as  the 


THE   BURNT  BARN  1S7 

policeman  neared  us  from  the  right,  so  the  sound  of 
wheels  approached  us  from  the  left.  Presently  a  fly 
hove  in  sight — the  sort  of  dusty  vehicle  that  plies  at 
every  rural  railway  station  in  this  country  ;  and  as 
he  caught  sight  of  us  in  the  road  the  driver  began 
waving  his  whip  in  a  very  singular  and  excited 
manner.  As  he  drew  nearer  still  he  shouted,  though 
at  first  we  could  not  distinguish  his  words.  By  this 
time  the  policeman,  trotting  ponderously,  was  within 
a  few  yards.  The  passenger  in  the  fly,  a  thin,  dark, 
elderly  man,  leaned  over  the  side  to  look  ahead  at 
us,  and  with  that  the  policeman  pulled  up  with  a 
great  gasp  and  staggered  into  the  ditch. 

"'Ere'e  is  I"  cried  the  fly-driver,  regardless  of  the 
angry  remonstrances  of  his  fare.  "  'Ere  'e  is  1  'E's 
all  right!    It  ain't 'im  I    'Ere  he  is  1" 

"  Shut  your  mouth,  you  fool  I "  cried  the  angry 
fare.    u  Will  you  stop  making  a  show  of  me  ?  " 

*  Not  me  ! "  cried  the  eccentric  cabman.  *  I 
don't  want  no  fare,  sir  !  I'm  drivin'  you  'ome  for 
honour  an'  glory,  an'  honour  an'  glory  I'll  make  it  ! 
'Ere'e  is  I" 

Hewitt  took  in  the  case  in  a  flash — the  flabber- 
gasted policeman,  the  excited  cabman  and  the 
angry  passenger.  He  sprang  into  the  road  and 
cried  to  the  cabman,  who  pulled  up  suddenly 
before  us. 


(88  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

"Mr.  Victor  Peytral,  I  believe?"  said  Martin 
Hewitt 

"Yes,  sir/'  answered  the  dark  gentleman  snappishly, 
*  but  I  don't  know  you  ! " 

"There  has  been  a  deal  of  trouble  here,  Mr. 
Peytral,  over  your  absence  from  home,  as  no  doubt 
you  have  become  aware ;  and  I  was  telegraphed  for 
by  your  daughter.  My  name  is  Hewitt — Martin 
Hewitt." 

Peytral's  face  changed  instantly.  *  I  know  your 
name  well,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  he  said.  "There's  a  matter 
—but  who  is  this?" 

"  My  friend,  Mr.  Brett,  who  is  good  enough  to 
help  me  to-day.  If  I  may  detain  you  a  moment,  I 
should  like  a  word  with  you  aside." 

"  Certainly." 

Mr.  Peytral  alighted,  and  the  two  walked  a  little 
apart 

I  saw  Hewitt  talking  and  pointing  toward  the 
burnt  barn,  and  I  well  guessed  what  he  was  saying. 
He  was  giving  Peytral  warning  of  what  he  had  dis- 
covered in  the  barn,  explaining  that  he  must  give 
the  information  to  the  police,  and  asking  if,  in  those 
circumstances,  Peytral  wished  to  go  home,  or  to 
make  other  arrangements.  Often  Hewitt's  duty  to 
his  clients  and  his  duty  as  a  law-upholding  citizen 
between  them  put  him  in  some  such  delicate  position. 


THE  BURNT  BARN  i89 

But  there  was  no  hesitation  in  Mr.  Victor  Peytral. 
Plainly  he  feared  nothing,  and  he  was  going 
home. 

"Very  well,  then,"  I  heard  Hewitt  say  as  they 
turned  towards  us,  "perhaps  we  had  better  go  on 
slowly  and  let  my  friend  cut  across  the  fields  first 
to  break  the  news.  Brett — I  knew  you  would  be 
useful,  sooner  or  later." 

And  so  I  hurried  off,  with  the  happy  though 
delicate  mission  to  restore  both  father  and  lover  to 
Miss  Claire  PeytraL 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE    CASE   OF   THE   BURNT    BARN    (CONTINUED) 

Miss  Peytral  had  to  be  put  to  bed  under  care  of 
a  nurse,  lor  the  revulsion  was  very  great,  and  so 
was  her  physical  prostration.  Bowmore,  now  set 
free,  and  in  himself  a  very  pleasant  young  fellow, 
came  with  hurried  inquiries  and  congratulations, 
and  then  rushed  off  to  London  to  cable  to  his 
friends  in  Canada,  for  fear  of  the  effect  of  news- 
paper telegrams. 

When  at  last  Hewitt  and  I  sat  with  Mr.  Peytral  in 
his  study,  "  Mr.  Hewitt,"  said  Peytral,  "  I  am  not 
sure  how  far  explanations  may  go  between  us. 
There  is  more  in  that  death  in  the  barn  than  the 
police  will  ever  guess." 

Peytral  was  haggard  and  drawn,  for,  as  he  had 
!et  slip  already,  he  had  scarce  slept  an  hour  since 
having  home  on  Thursday. 

*  I  am  tired,"  \e  said,  u  and  worn  out,  but  that  is 
not  a  novelty  with  me  ;  and  I'm  not  sure  but  we  may 
be  of  use  to  each  other.     Did  my  daughter  tell  yon 


THE   BURNT  BARN  i9i 

why  she  sent  Mr.  Bowmore  after  me  on  Thursday 
night?" 

Hewitt  explained  the  thing  as  briefly  as  possible, 
just  as  he  had  heard  it  from  Miss  Peytral. 

"Ah,"  said  Peytral,  thoughtfully.  «  So  she  thought 
my  manner  became  moody  a  few  months  back. 
It  did,  no  doubt,  for  I  had  memories  ;  and  more, 
I  had  apprehensions.  Mr.  Hewitt,  I  think  I  read 
in  the  papers  that  you  were  in  some  way  engaged 
in  the  extraordinary  case  of  the  murder  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Mason  ?" 

44  That  is  quite  correct.     I  was." 

"There  was  another  case,  a  little  while  before, 
which  possibly  you  may  not  have  heard  of.  A  man 
was  found  strangled  near  the  York  column,  by 
Pall  Mall,  with  just  such  a  mark  on  his  forehead 
as  was  found  on  Mr.  Mason's." 

"  I  know  that  case,  too,  as  well  as  the  other." 

M  Do  you  know  the  name  of  the  murderer  ?  " 

44 1  think  I  do.  We  speak  in  confidence,  of  course, 
as  client  and  professional  man  ? " 

"  Of  course.     What  was  his  name  ? 

44 1  have  heard  two — Everard  Myatt  and  Catherton 
Hunt." 

*  Neither  is  his  real  name,  and  I  $oubt  if  anybody 
but  himself  knows  it.  Twenty  years  ago  and  more 
I  knew  him  as  Mayes.     He  was  a  Jamaican.     Mr. 


i9a  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Hewitt,  that  man's  foul  life  has  been  justly  forfeit  a 
thousand  times,  but  if  it  belongs  to  anybody  it 
belongs  to  me  I " 

It  was  terrible  to  see  the  sudden  fiery  change  in 
the  old  man.  His  lassitude  was  gone  in  a  flash,  his 
eyes  blazed  and  his  nostrils  dilated. 

For  a  little  while  he  sat  so,  his  mouth  awork  with 
passion ;  then  he  sank  back  in  his  chair  with  a 
sigh. 

u  I  am  getting  old,"  he  said,  more  quietly,  "  and 
perhaps  I  am  not  strong  enough  to  lose  my  temper. 
.  .  .  Well,  as  I  said,  Mayes  was  a  Jamaican,  a  rene- 
gade white.  Do  you  remember  that  in  the  black 
rebellion  of  1865,  there  was  a  traitorous  white  man 
among  the  negroes  ?  Eyre  hanged  a  few  rebels,  and 
rightly,  but  the  worst  creature  on  all  that  island 
escaped — probably  escaped  by  the  aid  of  that 
very  white  skin  that  should  have  ensured  him 
a  greater  punishment  than  the  rest.  He  escaped 
to  Hayti.  Now  you  have  probably  heard  some- 
thing of  Hayti,  and  of  the  common  state  of  affairs 
there?" 

We  both  had  heard,  and,  indeed,  the  matter  had 
been  particularly  brought  to  Hewitt's  notice  by  the 
case  which  I  have  told  elsewhere  as  "  The  Affair  of 
the  Tortoise."  As  for  me,  I  had  read  Sir  Spenser 
St.  John's  book  on  the  black  republic,  and  I  had 


THE  BURNT   BARN  193 

been  greatly  impressed  by  the  graphic  picture  it  gives 
of  the  horrible,  blood-stained  travesty  of  regular 
government  there  prevailing.  Nothing  in  the  worst 
of  the  South  American  Republics  is  to  be  remotely 
compared  to  it  In  the  worst  periods  there  was  not 
a  crime  imaginable  that  could  not  be,  and  was  not, 
committed  openly  and  with  impunity  by  anybody 
on  the  right  side  of  the  so-called  "government"; 
and  the  u  government"  was  nothing  but  an  organised 
crime  in  itself. 

M  Well/'  Peytral  pursued,  "then  I  need  not  expa- 
tiate on  it,  and  you  will  understand  the  sort  of  place 
that  Mayes  fled  to,  and  how  it  suited  him.  He  was 
a  man  of  far  greater  ability  than  any  of  the  coarse 
scoundrels  in  power,  and  he  was  worse  than  all  of 
them.  He  was  not  such  a  fool  as  to  aim  at  ostensible 
political  power — that  way  generally  led  to  assassina- 
tion. He  was  the  jackal,  the  contriver,  the  power 
behind  the  throne,  the  instigator  of  half  the  devilry 
set  going  in  that  unhappy  place,  and  he  profited  by 
it  with  little  risk  ;  he  was  the  confidential  adviser 
of  that  horrible  creature  Domingue.  If  you  know 
anything  of  Hayti  you  will  know  what  that 
means. 

"  At  this  time  I  was  comparatively  a  young  man, 
and  a  merchant  at  Port-au-Prince.  It  was  a  bad 
place,  of   course,  and  business   was  risky  enough, 

M 


i94  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

but,  for  that  very  reason,  profits  were  large,  and 
that  was  an  attraction  to  a  sanguine  young  man 
like  myself.  I  did  very  well,  and  1  had  thoughts 
of  getting  out  of  it  with  what  I  had  made.  But 
it  was  a  fatal  thing  to  be  supposed  wealthy  in 
Port-au-Prince,  unless  you  were  a  villain  in  power, 
or  partner  with  one.  I  was  neither,  and  I  was 
judged  a  suitable  victim  by  Mayes.  Not  I  alone, 
either — no,  nor  even  only  I  and  my  fortune. 
Gentlemen,  gentlemen,  my  poor  wife,  who  now 
lies " 

Peytral's  utterance  failed  him.  He  rose  as  if 
choking,  and  Hewitt  rose  to  quiet  him.  "  Never 
mind,"  he  said,  "sit  quiet  now.  We  understand. 
Rest  a  moment" 

The  old  man  sank  back  in  his  chair,  and  for  a  little 
while  buried  his  face  in  his  hands.  Then  he  went 
on. 

44 1  needn't  go  into  details,"  he  said,  huskily. 
44  It  is  enough  to  say  that  every  devilish  engine  of 
force  and  cunning  was  put  in  operation  against  me. 
So  it  came  that  at  last,  on  a  hint  from  a  hanger-on 
of  the  police-office,  who  had  enough  humanity  in 
him  to  remember  a  kindness  he  had  experienced 
at  my  hands,  that  we  took  flight  in  the  middle  of 
the  night — my  poor  wife,  myself,  and  our  three 
children,  with  nothing  in  the  world  but   our  bare 


THE  BURNT   BARN  195 

lives  and  the  clothes  we  wore.  I  might  have  tried 
to  get  aboard  a  foreign  ship  in  the  harbour,  but 
I  knew  that  would  be  useless.  I  should  have  been 
given  up  on  whatever  criminal  charge  Mayes  chose 
to  present,  and  my  wife  and  children  with  me.  I 
had  hope  of  somehow  getting  to  San  Cristobel, 
where  I  had  a  friend — over  the  border  in  the  other 
Government  of  the  island,  the  Dominican  Republic. 
That  was  eighty  miles  away  and  more,  across 
swamps,  and  forests  and  mountains.  Well,  we  did  it 
— we  did  it.  We  did  it,  Mr.  Hewitt,  and  1  dream  of  it 
still.  They  hunted  us,  sir — hunted  us  with  dogs.  We 
hid  from  them  a  whole  day  among  the  rank  weeds — 
up  to  our  shoulders  in  the  water  of  a  pestilential 
fever-swamp  ;  Claire,  the  baby,  on  her  mother's  back, 
and  both  the  boys  on  mine.  They  died — they  died 
next  day.  My  two  beautiful  boys,  gentlemen,  died 
in  my  arms,  and  I  was  too  weak  even  to  bury 
them  I " 

There  was  another  long  pause,  and  the  man's 
head  was  bowed  in  his  hands  once  more.  Presently 
he  went  on  again,  but  at  first  without  lifting  his 
head. 

*  We  did  it,  gentlemen,"  he  said—"  we  did  it.  We 
crawled  into  San  Cristobel  at  the  end  of  rive  days ; 
and  from  that  moment  my  dear  wife  has  never  once 
stood  upright  on  her  teet.     So  we  came  out  of  it, 


i96  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

and  the  baby,  Claire,  was  the  one  that  suffered  least 
She  was  too  young  to  understand,  and  her  mother — 
her  mother  saved  her,  when  I  could  not  save  the 
boysl" 

He  paused  again,  and  presently  sat  up,  pale,  but 
in  full  command  of  himself.  u  You  will  excuse  me, 
gentlemen,  I  am  sure,  and  make  allowances  for  my 
feelings,"  he  said.  "  There  is  not  a  great  deal  more 
to  tell.  Mayes  did  not  last  long  in  Hayti.  Domingue 
was  overthrown,  and  Mayes  left  the  island,  I  was 
told,  and  made  for  another  part  of  the  world.  Years 
afterward  I  heard  of  his  being  in  China,  though 
what  truth  there  may  have  been  in  the  rumour  ) 
cannot  say. 

u  My  friend  in  San  Cristobel — he  was  a  cousin,  in 
fact — put  me  on  my  legs  again,  and  after  a  while  he 
helped  me  to  begin  business  at  San  Domingo,  under 
my  present  name,  Peytral,  which,  in  fact,  was  my 
mother's  maiden  name.  There  came  a  sudden  push 
in  trade  with  the  United  States  about  this  time,  and 
I  went  into  my  affairs  with  the  more  energy  to  dis- 
tract my  thoughts.  In  fifteen  years— to  cut  a  long 
story  short — I  had  made  the  small  competency 
which  I  have  brought  to  England  with  me,  with  the 
idea  of  a  peaceful  end  to  my  life  and  my  wife's ; 
though  I  doubt  if  I  am  to  have  that  now.  I  doubt 
it,  and  I  will  tell  you  why.    Mr.  Hewitt,  when  I 


THE  BURNT  BARN  197 

went  away  without  warning  on  Thursday  night  I 
was  dogging  Mayes  ! " 

Hewitt  nodded,  with  no  sign  of  surprise.  "  And 
the  man  killed  in  the  barn  ?  " 

44  That  is  one  more  of  his  thousand  crimes,  with- 
out a  doubt.  Though  it  differs.  Do  you  know 
what  drew  my  attention  to  the  murders  of  the  men 
Denson  and  Mason,  and  so  set  me  thinking  ?  In 
each  case  the  murder  was  by  strangulation,  and  the 
medical  evidence  at  the  inquests  showed  that  it  was 
effected  by  means  of  a  tourniquet.  In  fact,  in 
the  second  case,  the  tourniquet  itself  was  left  be- 
hind." 

"Yes,"  Hewitt  replied,  "I  loosened  it  myself — 
but,  unfortunately,  I  was  too  late." 

m  Well,  now,"  Peytral  went  on,  4i  in  Hayti,  in  my 
time,  Mayes's  enemies  had  a  habit  of  dying  suddenly 
in  the  night,  by  strangulation,  and  a  tourniquet  was 
always  the  instrumert.  And  just  as  murder  was 
quite  a  popular  procedure  in  that  accursed  place,  so 
strangulation  by  tourniquet  became  for  a  while  the 
most  common  form  of  the  crime.  It  was  rapid, 
effective,  and  silent,  you  see.  So  that  a  murder  by 
tourniquet,  quite  an  unknown  thing  in  this  country, 
took  my  attention  at  once,  and  when  another  followed 
it  so  soon,  I  felt  something  like  certainty.  And  the 
triangle  was  suggestive,  too." 


i98  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

"Were  Mayes's  victims  marked  in  that  way  in 
Hayti?" 

"  No,  there  was  no  mark.  But " — here  Mr. 
Peytral's  features  assumed  a  curious  expression — 
"there  are  things  which  are  not  believed  in  this 
country — which  are  laughed  at,  in  fact,  and  called 
superstition.  You  know  something  of  Hayti,  and 
therefore  you  must  have  heard  of  Voodoo — the 
witchcraft  and  devil-worship  of  the  West  Indies. 
Well,  Mayes  was  as  deep  in  that  as  he  was  in  every 
other  species  of  wickedness.  It  sounds  foolish, 
perhaps,  here  in  civilised  England,  and  you  may 
laugh,  but  I  tell  you  that  Mayes  could  make  men  do 
as  he  wished,  with  their  consent  or  against  it  1  And 
he  used  a  thing — it  was  generally  known  that  he 
used  a  thing  marked  with  a  triangle — a  Red  Triangle 
— by  the  use  of  which  he  could  bend  men  to  his 
will!" 

Hewitt  was  listening  intently,  with  no  sign  of 
laughter  at  all,  notwithstanding  his  client's  apprehen- 
sion. And  I  remembered  the  case  of  Mr.  Jacob 
Mason,  and  how  that  victim  had  so  fervently  ex- 
pressed his  wish  to  the  excellent  clergyman,  Mr. 
Pots  wood,  that  he  had  never  dabbled  in  the  strange 
devilries  of  Myatt — or  Mayes,  as  we  were  now  learn- 
ing to  call  him. 

u  At  any  rate,"  Peytral  resumed,  *  you  will  under- 


THE  BURNT  BARN  199 

stand  that  the  conjunction  of  the  tourniquet  with 
the  Red  Triangle  in  the  two  cases  you  know  of 
caused  me  some  excitement.  My  daughter,  as  you 
have  said,  noticed  a  change  in  my  habits  from  that 
time ;  my  wife  did  more — she  knew  the  reason.  Mr. 
Hewitt,  I  am  an  older  man,  but  there  is  hotter  blood 
in  my  veins  than  in  yours.  My  father  was  English 
— though  you  might  scarcely  suppose  it — but  my 
mother,  to  whose  name  I  have  reverted,  was  a 
French  Creole.  So  perhaps  my  natural  instincts 
come  nearer  to  those  of  our  savage  ancestry 
than  do  yours.  Whether  or  not  you  will  un- 
derstand me  I  do  not  know,  but  I  can  tell  you 
that  even  now,  in  cold  blood — for  my  paroxysm 
has  exhausted  itself  and  me — it  seems  to  me 
that  it  would  be  my  duty,  not  to  say  my  sacred 
duty,  to  tear  that  man  to  pieces  with  my  hands 
whenever  and  wherever  I  could  put  them  on  him  1 
My  old  passions  may  have  slept,  I  find,  but  they 
are  alive  still,  and  I  found  them  waking  when 
I  realised  that  Mayes  was  alive  and  in  England. 
The  words  '  sane '  and  '  insane '  are  elastic  in  their 
application,  but  I  doubt  if  you  would  have  called  me 
strictly  sane  of  late.  I  evolved  mad  schemes  for  the 
destruction  of  this  wretch,  and  I  was  ready  to  devote 
myself  and  everything  I  possessed  to  the  purpose. 
More  than  once  1  contemplated  coming  to  you—* 


too  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

seeing  that  you  had  met  the  man  in  one  of  his 
villainies — with  the  idea  of  enlisting  your  aid.  But  I 
reflected  that  you  would  probably  make  yourself  no 
party  to  a  plan  of  private  revenge,  and  I  hesitated. 
And  then — then,  a  little  more  than  a  week  ago,  I 
saw  the  man  himself  1  Changed,  without  doubt,  but 
not  half  as  much  changed  as  I  am  myself.  Never- 
theless, sure  as  I  am  of  him  now,  I  hesitated  then. 
For  it  was  here  in  the  meadow  that  you  know,  near 
the  barn,  and  the  thing  seemed  so  likely  to  be  illusion 
that  I  almost  suspected  my  senses.  It  was  dusk,  and 
he  was  walking  and  talking  with  another  man,  a 
good  deal  younger.  And  presently,  while  I  was  still 
confounded  with  surprise,  and  as  they  passed  behind 
a  clump  of  trees,  Mayes  was  gone,  and  I  saw 
his  companion  alone.  He  was  a  young  man — an 
artist,  it  would  seem,  with  sketch-book  and 
colours." 

I  started,  and  Hewitt  and  I  glanced  at  each  other. 
Peytral  saw  it  and  paused.  "Never  mind,"  said 
Hewitt.     "  Please  go  on." 

u  After  that  I  came  out  every  night,  in  the  hope 
of  seeing  my  enemy  again.  On  several  evenings  I 
saw  the  young  artist  waiting  by  the  barn  expectantly, 
but  nobody  joined  him.  I  found  that  this  young 
man  was  lodging  at  a  cottage  in  the  village,  and  I 
resolved  not  to  lose  sight  of  him. 


THE   BURNT   BARN  201 

"At  last,  on  Thursday  night,  I  saw  Mayes  again. 
Mr.  Bowmore  was  here,  and  when  I  left  the  house 
he  troubled  me  much  by  coming  after  me.  I  was 
obliged  to  tell  him  that  I  wished  to  be  alone,  and  I 
was  in  a  nervously  explosive  state  when  I  did  it.  He 
seemed  reluctant  to  go ;  my  anger  blazed  out,  and  I 
violently  ordered  him  off.  From  what  he  has  told 
me  it  seems  that  he  followed  me  still,  but  lost 
sight  of  me  near  Penn's  Meadow.  Well,  be  that 
as  it  may,  I  saw  Mayes  and  the  young  artist  again. 
I  watched  from  a  rather  awkward  spot,  and 
dusk  was  falling,  so  that  I  could  not  see  all  that 
passed ;  but  presently  I  was  aware  that  Mayes 
was  making  off  by  the  road  alone,  and  I  followed 
him. 

"  From  that  moment  I  think  I  really  was  mad, 
though  my  madness  did  not  drive  me  to  attack 
him  at  once.  I  had  a  feeling  of  curiosity  to 
see  where  he  would  go,  and  a  curious  cruel  idea 
of  letting  him  run  for  a  little  first — as  a  cat  feels, 
I  suppose,  with  a  mouse.  You  may  judge  that 
I  was  not  in  my  normal  state  of  mind  from 
the  fact  that  all  through  yesterday  and  part  of 
to-day  I  never  as  much  as  thought  of  telegraph- 
ing home  to  say  that  I  had  gone  to  London. 
For  it  was  to  London  I  followed  him.  I  took  no 
ticket   at  the  station— I    got  on   the  platform  by 


ioi  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

stealth,  and  entered  the  train  unobserved,  for  he 
and  one  boy  were  the  only  passengers,  and  I  feared 
attracting  attention.  It  was  easy  enough,  in  such 
a  station  as  Redfield,  and  I  paid  my  fare  at 
London.  And  after  all  I  lost  him  I  Lost  him  in 
London  1 " 

*  How  ?  " 

"  Like  a  fool.  I  saw  him  enter  a  house,  and 
waited.  Followed  him  again,  and  waited  at  another. 
I  might  have  flung  him  into  the  river  from  the 
Embankment,  and  I  refrained.  And  then — whether 
it  began  at  a  dark  corner  or  in  a  group  of  people  I 
cannot  tell,  but  I  suddenly  discovered  that  I  was 
following  a  stranger — a  stranger  of  about  Mayes's 
form  and  stature.  It  was  what  I  should  have 
expected,  and  provided  for,  in  London  streets  at 
night  1 

"  If  1  have  been  mad,  it  was  then  I  was  worst.  I 
suppose  by  that  time  it  must  have  been  too  late  to 
get  back  home,  but  I  never  thought  of  that.  I  ran 
the  streets  the  whole  night,  like  a  fool,  hunting  for 
Mayes.  I  kept  on  all  day  yesterday.  I  waited  and 
watched  hours  at  the  two  houses  he  had  visited  ;  and 
it  was  not  till  early  this  morning  that  I  flung  myself 
on  a  bed  in  a  private  hotel  in  Euston  Road.  I 
slept  a  little,  and  my  paroxysm  was  over.  Per- 
haps  I  am  more  fortunate  than   I   am  disposed  to 


THE  BURNT  BARN  103 

think,  since  I  am  as  yet  in  no  danger  of  trial  for 
murder." 

This  passionate,  wayward,  stricken  man  was 
plainly  the  object  of  fascinated  interest  to  Hewitt. 
My  friend  waited  a  moment,  and  then  said — "  The 
houses  he  called  at — I  should  like  to  know  them. 
And  where  you  lost  sight  of  him." 

Peytral  sat  back,  and  gazed  thoughtfully  for  fully 
half  a  minute  in  Hewitt's  face.  "  Do  you  know,"  he 
said  at  length,  "I  don't  think  I'll  answer  that  ques- 
tion now.  I'd  like  to  leave  it  for  a  day  or  two. 
Yesterday  I  wouldn't  have  told  you,  even  on  the 
rack — no,  not  a  word  !  I  should  have  said,  '  Take 
your  own  chances,  and  get  him  if  you  can.  As  for 
me,  I  consider  him  my  prey,  and  what  scent  I  have 
picked  up  I  shall  use  myself  1 '  A  mad  fancy,  you 
will  think,  perhaps.  For  me  the  question  is,  was  I 
sanest  then  or  now  ?  I  will  take  a  day  or  two  to 
think." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   CASE   OF   THE   BURNT    BARN    (CONTINUED) 

In  less  than  a  day  or  two  the  identity  of  the  victim 
of  the  burnt  barn  was  established.  For  Hewitt  had 
his  idea,  and  he  communicated  with  Pluramer,  of 
Scotland  Yard.  The  man  with  the  buttoned  boots 
and  the  sketch-book  was  the  artist  who  had  been 
staying  at  the  cottage  in  the  village,  but  who,  singu- 
larly enough,  had  never  been  seen  to  draw,  and  had 
left  no  drawings  behind  him.  He  had  warned  the 
people  of  the  cottage  that  he  might  be  away  for  a 
night  or  two,  and  he  had  stayed  away  for  two  nights 
before ;  so  that  his  disappearance  did  not  disturb 
them,  and  when  they  heard  that  Mr.  Peytral's  body 
had  been  found  in  the  barn  they  accepted  the  news 
as  fact.  They  recognised  at  once  a  photograph  pro- 
duced by  Plummer  as  that  of  their  late  lodger.  And 
the  photograph  had  been  procured  from  Messrs. 
Kingsley,  Bell  and  Dalton,  the  intended  victims  in 
the  bond  case,  and  it  was  one  of  Henning,  their 
vanished  correspondence  clerk ! 
That  his  death  would  be  convenient  to  Mayes,  the 


THE   BURNT  BARN  205 

greater  scoundrel,  was  plain  enough.  The  bond 
robbery  had  been  brought  to  naught,  thanks  to 
Martin  Hewitt,  and  Henning  was  now  useless. 
Worse,  he  might  be  caught,  or  give  himself  up,  and 
was  thus  a  perpetual  danger.  And  probably  he 
wanted  money.  This  being  so,  it  was  a  singular  fact 
that  at  the  inquest  the  surgeon  who  had  examined 
the  wound  gave  it  as  his  most  positive  opinion  that 
it  had  been  self-inflicted.  And  it  was  inflicted  with 
a  razor,  Henning's  own,  as  was  very  clearly  proved 
atier  inquiry.  For  the  razor  was  found  in  the  barn 
by  the  police,  entangled  with  the  blackened  frame  of 
an  old  lantern.  Here  was  still  another  puzzle  ;  one 
to  which  the  final  revelation  of  the  mystery  of  the 
Red  Triangle  gave  an  answer,  as  will  be  seen  in  due 
placft* 


THE  CASE  OF  THE  ADMIRALTY 
CODE 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   CASE   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY    CODE 

Quick  on  the  heels  of  the  case  of  the  Burnt  Ban» 
followed  the  next  of  the  Red  Triangle  affairs. 
Indeed,  the  interval  was  barely  two  days.  Mr. 
Victor  Peytral,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  declined 
to  reveal  to  Hewitt  the  addresses  of  the  two  houses 
in  London  which  he  had  seen  Mayes  visit,  desiring 
to  think  the  matter  over  for  a  few  days  first ;  but 
before  any  more  could  be  heard  from  him,  news  of 
another  sort  was  brought  by  Inspector  Plummer. 

It  may  give  some  clue  to  the  period  whereabout 
the  whole  mystery  of  the  Red  Triangle  began  to  b? 
cleared  up  if  I  say  that  at  the  time  of  Plumuier1* 
visit  this  country  was  on  the  very  verge  of  war  with 
a  great  European  State,  It  is  a  State  with  which 
the  present  relations  of  England  are  of  the  friend- 
liest description,  and,  since  the  dreaded  collision  was 
happily  averted,  there  is  no  need  to  particularise  in 
the  matter  now,  especially  as  the  name  of  the  coun- 
try with  which  we  were  at  variance  matters  nothing 
as  regards  the  course  of    events   1  am   to  relate. 

• 


no  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Though  most  readers  will  recognise  it  at  once  when 
I  say  that  the  war,  had  it  come  to  that,  would  have 
been  a  naval  war  of  great  magnitude ;  and  that 
during  the  time  of  tension  swift  but  quiet  prepara- 
tions were  going  forward  at  all  naval  depots,  and 
movements  and  dispositions  of  our  fleet  were 
arranged  that  extended  to  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  ocean. 

It  was  at  the  height  of  the  excitement,  and,  as  I 
have  said,  two  days  after  the  return  of  Hewitt  and 
myself  from  Throckham,  when  the  case  of  the  Burnt 
Barn  had  been  disposed  of,  that  Detective- Inspector 
Plummer  called.  I  was  in  Hewitt's  office  at  the 
time,  having,  in  fact,  called  in  on  my  way  to  learn  if 
he  had  heard  more  from  Mr.  Victor  Peytral,  for,  as 
may  be  imagined,  I  was  as  eager  to  penetrate  the 
mystery  of  the  Triangle  as  Hewitt  himself — perhaps 
more  so,  since  Hewitt  was  a  man  inured  to  mysteries. 
I  had  hardly  had  time  to  learn  that  Peytral  had  not 
yet  made  up  his  mind  so  far  as  to  write,  when 
Plummer  pushed  hurriedly  into  the  room. 

"  Excuse  my  rushing  in  like  this,"  he  said,  "  but 
your  lad  told  me  that  it  was  Mr.  Brett  who  was  with 
you,  and  the  matter  needs  hurry.  You've  heard  no 
more  of  that  fellow — Myatt,  Hunt,  Mayes,  whatever 
his  name  is  last — since  the  barn  murder,  of  course  ? 
Has  Peytral  given  vou  the  tip  he  half  promised  ?  " 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       211 

Hewitt  shook  his  head  again.  "Brett  has  this 
moment  come  to  ask  the  same  question/'  he  said. 
"  I  have  heard  nothing." 

"  I  must  have  it,"  said  Plummer,  emphatically. 
•  Do  you  think  he  will  tell  me  ?  " 

Hewitt  shook  his  head  again.  "  Scarcely  likely," 
he  said.  "  He's  an  odd  fellow,  this  Mr.  Peytral — a 
foreigner,  with  revenge  in  his  blood.  I  have  done 
him  and  his  daughter  some  little  service,  and  he  told 
me  all  his  private  history ;  but  he  seemed  even  then 
disposed  to  keep  Mayes  to  himself  and  let  nobody 
interfere  with  his  own  vengeance.  But  I  will  wire 
if  you  like.     What  is  it?" 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  said  Plummer,  pushing  the  door 
close  behind  him.  "  I'll  tell  you — in  confidence,  of 
course — because  you've  seen  more  of  this  mysterious 
rascal  than  I  have,  and — equally  in  confidence,  of 
course — Mr.  Brett  may  heai,  too,  since  he's  been  in 
several  of  the  cases  already.  Well,  of  course,  we  all 
know  well  enough  that  we  want  this  creature — 
Mayes,  we  may  as  well  call  him,  I  suppose,  now — 
for  three  murders,  at  least,  to  say  nothing  of  other 
things.  That's  all  very  well,  and  we  might  have  got 
him  with  time.  But  now  we  want  him  for  some- 
thing else  ;  and  it's  such  a  thing  that  we  must  have 
him  at  once,  or  else  " — and  Plummer  pursed  his  lips 
and  snapped  his  fingers  significantly.     "We  can't 


ai2  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

wait  over  this,  Mr.  Hewitt ;  we've  got  to  have  that 
man  to-day,  if  it  can  be  done.  And  there's  more 
than  ordinary  depending  on  it.  It's  the  country  this 
time.  The  Admiralty  telegraphic  code  has  been 
stolen  1" 

"By  Mayes?" 

Plummer  shrugged  his  shoulders.  u  Thafs  to  be 
proved/'  he  said ;  "  but  he  was  seen  leaving  the 
office  at  about  the  time  the  loss  occurred,  and  that's 
enough  to  set  me  after  him  ;  and  there's  not  another 
clue  of  any  sort  Mr.  Hewitt,  I  wish  you  were  in  the 
official  service  I n 

Hewitt  smiled.  "  You  flatter  me,"  he  said, u  as  you 
have  done  before.   But  why  in  this  case  particularly  ?  " 

"It's  a  case  altogether  out  of  the  ordinary,  and 
one  of  a  string  of  such,  all  of  which  you  have  at 
your  fingers'  ends.  And  I  don't  mind  confessing 
that  this  man  Mayes  is  a  little  too  big  a  handful  for 
one — for  me,  at  any  rate.  I  wish  you  could  work 
with  me  over  this;  in  fact,  in  the  special  circum- 
stances I've  a  good  mind  to  ask  to  have  you  retained, 
as  an  exceptional  measure.  But  the  thing's  urgent, 
and  there's  red-tape  1 " 

Hewitt  had  taken  a  glance  at  his  desk  tablet,  which 
he  now  flung  down. 

u  I'll  do  it  for  love,"  he  said,  u  if  necessary.  My 
appointment  list  is  uncommonly  slack  just  now,  and 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE      113 

even  if  it  weren't,  I'd  make  a  considerable  sacrifice 
rather  than  be  out  of  this.  This  fellow  Mayes  is  a 
dangerous  man  ;  and  I  feel  it  a  point  of  honour  that 
he  shall  not  continue  to  escape.  Moreover,  I  have 
begun  to  form  a  certain  theory  as  to  the  Red 
Triangle,  and  all  there  is  at  the  back  of  it — a  theory 
I  would  rather  keep  to  myself  til?  I  see  a  little  more, 
since  as  it  stands  it  may  only  strike  you  as  fantastic, 
and  if  it  is  wrong  it  may  lead  some  of  us  off  the 
track ;  but  it  is  a  theory  I  wish  to  test  to  the  end. 
So  I'm  with  you,  Plummer,  if  you'll  allow  it ;  and 
you  can  make  your  official  application  for  a  special 
retainer  or  not,  just  as  you  please." 

Plummer  was  plainly  delighted. 

"  Most  certainly  I  will,"  he  said.  "  Shall  I  give 
you  the  heads  of  the  case,  or  will  you  come  to  the 
Admiralty  and  see  for  yourself  ?  " 

"Both,  I  think,"  said  Hewitt  "But  first  I  will 
send  a  telegram  to  Peytral.  Then  you  can  give  me 
the  heads  of  the  case  as  we  go  along,  and  I  will 
look  at  the  place  for  myself.  I  am  in  this  case 
heart  and  soul,  pay  or  no  pay — and  I  expect  my 
friend  Brett  would  like  to  be  in  it,  too.  Is  there 
any  objection  ?  " 

"Well,"  Plummer  answered,  a  little  doubtfully, 
"we're  glad  of  outside  help,  of  course,  but  I'm  not 
sure,  officially " 


li4  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

"  Of  course  you  arc  always  glad  of  outside  help," 
Hewitt  interrupted,  "and  in  this  case  we  may 
possibly  find  Brett  more  useful  than  you  think. 
Consider  now.  He  has  seen  a  good  deal  of  these 
cases— quite  as  much  as  you,  in  fact — but  he  is  the 
only  one  of  the  three  of  us  whom  Mayes  does  not 
know  by  sight.  Remember,  Mayes  saw  us  both  in 
the  affair  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason,  and  he  saw  you 
again  in  the  case  of  the  Lever  Key — escaped,  in 
fact,  because  he  instantly  recognised  you.  I'll 
answer  for  Brett's  discretion,  and  I'm  sure  he'll  be 
glad  to  help,  even  if,  for  official  reasons,  you  may 
not  find  it  possible  to  admit  him  wholly  into  your 
counsels." 

Of  course  I  willingly  assented,  and  the  conditions 
understood,  Plummer  offered  no  further  objection. 
Hewitt  despatched  his  telegram,  and  in  a  very 
few  minutes  we  were  in  a  cab  on  the  way  to  the 
Admiralty. 

"This  is  the  way  of  it,"  Plummer  said.  "You 
will  remember  that  when  we  lost  Mayes  at  the  end 
of  the  Lever  Key  case,  I  was  waiting  for  him  in  that 
city  office,  with  an  assistant,  and  that  we  only  saw 
him  for  an  instant  in  the  lift.  Well,  that  assistant 
was  a  very  intelligent  man  of  mine,  named  Corder 
— a  fellow  with  a  wonderful  memory  for  a  face. 
Now  Coi  der  is  on  another  case  just  now,  and  we'd 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       215 

put  him  on,  dressed  like  a  loafer,  to  hang  about 
Whitehall  and  the  neighbourhood,  watching  for 
some  one  we  want.  Well,  this  morning  there  came 
an  urgent  message  to  the  Yard  from  the  Admiralty, 
to  ask  for  a  responsible  official  at  once,  and  I  was 
sent.  As  I  came  along  I  saw  Corder  lounging 
about,  and  of  course  1  took  no  notice — it  would  not 
do  for  us  people  from  the  Yard  to  recognise  each 
other  too  readily  in  the  street.  But  Corder  came 
up,  and  made  pretence  to  ask  me  for  a  match  to 
light  his  pipe ;  and  under  cover  of  that  he  told  me 
that  he  had  seen  Mayes  not  an  hour  before,  coming 
out  of  the  Admiralty.  At  this,  of  course,  I  pricked 
up  my  ears.  I  didn't  know  what  they  wanted  me 
for,  but  if  there  was  mischief,  and  that  fellow  had 
been  there,  it  was  likely  at  least  that  he  might  have 
been  in  it  Corder  was  quite  positive  that  it  was 
the  man,  although  he  had  only  seen  him  for  a 
moment  in  the  lift.  He  hadn't  seen  him  go  into  the 
Admiralty  office,  but  he  was  passing  as  he  came  out, 
and  noted  the  time  exactly,  so  that  he  might  report 
to  me  at  the  first  opportunity.  The  time  was  11.32, 
and  Mayes  jumped  into  a  hansom  and  drove  off. 
He  walked  right  out  into  the  middle  of  the  road  to 
stop  the  hansom — you  know  how  wide  the  road  is 
there — so  that  Corder  couldn't  hear  his  direction  to 
the  cabman,  but  he  took  the  number  as  the  cab 


2i6  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

went  off.  Corder  ought  to  have  collared  him  then 
and  there,  I  think,  but  he  was  in  a  difficult  position. 
It  would  have  endangered  the  case  he  was  on, 
which  is  very  important;  and  besides,  he  didn't 
realise  how  much  we  wanted  him  for,  having  only 
been  brought  in  as  an  assistant  at  the  tail  of  our 
bond  case.  Still  less  did  he  guess — any  more  than 
myself — what  I  was  going  to  hear  at  the  Admiralty 
office." 

"At  any  rate,"  interrupted  Hewitt,  "you've  got 
the  number  of  the  cab  ?  " 

"  Here  it  is/'  Plummer  answered,  u  and  I've 
already  set  a  man  to  get  hold  of  the  cabman.  You'd 
better  note  the  number — 92,873." 

Hewitt  duly  noted  the  number,  and  advised  me 
to  do  the  same,  in  case  I  should  chance  to  meet  the 
cab  during  the  afternoon ;  and  as  we  neared  our 
destination  Plummer  gave  us  the  rest  of  the  case  in 
outline. 

"  In  the  office,"  he  said,  "  I  found  them  in  a  great 
state.  A  copy  of  the  code,  or  cypher,  in  which  con- 
fidential orders  and  other  messages  are  sent  to  the 
fleet  all  over  the  world,  and  in  which  reports  and 
messages  are  sent  back,  had  disappeared  during  the 
morning.  It  was  in  charge  of  a  Mr.  Robert  Telfer, 
a  clerk  of  responsibility  and  undoubted  integrity. 
He  kept  it  in  a  small  iron  safe,  which  is  let  into  the 


THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE       217 

wall  of  his  private  room.  It  was  safe  when  he 
arrived  in  the  morning,  and  he  immediately  used  it 
in  order  to  code  a  telegram,  and  locked  it  in  the  safe 
again  at  10.20.  Two  hours  later,  at  12.20,  he  went 
to  the  safe  for  it  again,  in  order  to  de-code  a 
message  just  received,  and  it  was  gone  I  And  the 
lock  of  the  safe  is  one  that  would  take  hours  to  pick, 
I  should  judge.  There  isn't  a  shade  of  a  clue,  so  far 
as  I  can  see,  except  this  circumstance  of  Mayes 
being  seen  leaving  by  Corder — just  between  Telfer's 
two  visits  to  the  safe,  you  perceive.  And  of  course 
there  may  be  nothing  in  that,  except  for  the 
character  of  the  man.  And  that's  all  there  is  to  go 
on,  as  far  as  I  can  see.  I  needn't  tell  you  how 
important  the  thing  is  at  a  time  like  this,  and  how 
much  would  be  paid  for  that  secret  code  by  a 
certain  foreign  Government.  We  have  made  hurried 
arrangements  to  have  certain  places  watched,  and 
as  soon  as  I  have  taken  you  to  the  office  I  must  rush 
off  and  make  a  few  more  arrangements  still.  But 
here  we  are." 

Mr.  Robert  Telfer's  room  was  at  the  side  of  a  long 
and  gloomy  corridor  on  the  upper  floor,  and  the 
door  was  distinguished  merely  by  a  number  and  the 
word  "Private"  painted  thereon.  We  found  Mr. 
Telfer  sitting  alone,  and  plainly  in  a  state  of  great 
nervous  tension*     He  was  a  man  of  forty  or  there- 


218  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

about,  thin,  alert,  and  using  a  single  eye-glass. 
Plummer  introduced  us  by  name,  and  rapidly 
explained  our  business. 

u  I  told  you  the  name  of  the  party  I  am  after,  Mr. 
Telf er,"  Plummer  said,  u  and  I  went  straight  to  Mr. 
Martin  Hewitt,  as  being  most  likely  to  have  infor- 
mation of  him.  Mr.  Hewitt,  whose  name  you  know 
already,  of  course,  is  kind  enough,  seeing  we're  in  a 
bad  pinch,  and  pushed  for  time,  to  come  in  and 
give  us  all  the  help  he  can.  Both  he  and  his  friend, 
Mr.  Brett,  know  a  good  deal  of  the  doings  of  the 
person  we're  after,  and  their  assistance  is  likely  to  be 
of  the  very  greatest  value.  Do  you  mind  giving 
Mr.  Hewitt  any  information  he  may  ask  ?  I  must 
rush  over  to  the  Yard  to  put  some  other  inquiries 
on  foot,  and  to  set  an  observation  or  two,  but  I'll 
be  back  presently." 

u  Certainly,"  Mr.  Telfer  answered,  "  I'm  only  too 
anxious  to  give  any  information  whatever — so  long 
as  it  is  nothing  departmentally  forbidden — which  will 
help  to  put  this  horrible  matter  right  Please  ask 
me  anything,  and  be  patient  if  my  answers  are  not 
very  clear.  I  have  been  much  overworked  lately, 
as  you  may  imagine,  and  have  had  very  little  sleep  ; 
and  now  this  terrible  misfortune  has  upset  me  com- 
pletely; for,  of  course,  I  am  held  responsible  for 
that  copy  of  the  code,  and  if  it  isn't  recovered,  and 


THE  ADMIRALTY  CODE       219 

quickly ,  I  am  ruined — to  say  nothing,  of  course,  ot 
the  far  more  serious  consequences  in  other  direc- 
tions." 

"That  is  the  safe  in  which  it  was  kept,  I  pre- 
sume ?  "  Hewitt  said,  indicating  a  small  one  let  into 
the  wall.    "  May  I  examine  it  ?  " 

u  Certainly."  Mr.  Telf er  turned  and  produced  the 
keys  from  his  pocket.  "  The  code  was  here,  lying 
on  this  shelf  when  I  needed  it  this  morning  at  ten. 
I  took  it  out,  used  it,  returned  it  to  the  same  place 
exactly,  and  locked  the  safe  door.  Then  I  took  the 
draft  of  the  telegram,  together  with  the  copy  in 
cypher,  into  the  Controller's  room,  gave  it  into  safe 
hands,  and  returned  here." 

Hewitt  narrowly  examined  the  lock  of  the  safe 
with  his  pocket  lens.  "  There  are  no  signs  of  the 
lock  having  been  picked/'  he  said,  "even  if  that 
were  possible.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  is  a  lock 
that  would  take  half  a  day  to  pick,  even  with  a  heavy 
bag  of  tools.  No,  I  don't  think  that  was  the  way  of 
it  You  have  no  doubt  about  locking  the  safe  door 
at  10.20,  I  suppose,  before  you  went  to  the  Con- 
troller's room  ?  " 

"No  possible  doubt  whatever.  You  see,  I  left  the 
whole  bunch  of  keys  hanging  in  the  lock  while  I 
coded  the  telegram.  It  was  a  short  one,  and  was 
soon  done.    Then  I  returned  the  code  to  its  place, 


220  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

locked  the  safe,  and  then  used  another  key  on  the 
bunch  to  lock  a  drawer  in  this  desk.  I  had  no 
occasion  to  go  to  the  safe  again  till  about  12.20, 
when  the  Controller's  secretary  came  here  with  a 
telegram  to  be  de-coded.  The  safe  was  still  locked 
then,  but  when  it  was  opened  the  code  was  gone." 

u  You  had  had  no  occasion  to  go  to  the  safe  in 
the  meantime  ?" 

u  None  at  all.  I  locked  it  at  10.20,  and  I  unlocked 
it  two  hours  later,  and  that  was  all." 

u  You  were  not  in  the  room  the  whole  of  the  time, 
of  course  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.  I  have  told  you  that  at  10.20  I  went  to 
the  Controller's  room,  and  after  that  I  went  out  two 
or  three  times  on  one  occasion  or  another.  But 
each  time  I  locked  the  door  of  the  room." 

u  Oh,  you  did  ?  That  is  important.  And  you 
took  all  your  keys  with  you,  I  presume  ? " 

"  Y«,  all.  The  keys  on  the  bunch  I  took  in  my 
pocket,  of  course,  and  the  room  door  key  I  also 
took.  There  are  one  or  two  rather  important  papers 
on  my  desk,  you  see,  and  anybody  from  the  corridor 
might  come  in  if  the  door  were  left  unlocked." 

"  The  lock  of  the  door  would  be  a  good  deal  easier 
to  pick  than  that  of  the  safe,"  Hewitt  observed,  after 
examining  it.  "  But  that  would  be  of  no  great  use 
with  the  safe  locked.     Shortly,  then,  the  facts  are 


THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE       121 

these.  You  locked  the  code  safely  away  at  10.20, 
you  left  the  room  two  or  three  times,  but  each  time 
the  door,  as  well  as  the  safe,  was  locked,  and  the 
keys  in  your  pocket ;  and  then,  at  12.20,  or  two 
hours  exactly  after  the  code  had  been  put  safely 
away,  you  opened  the  safe  again  in  presence  of  the 
Com  roller's  secretary,  and  the  code  had  vanished. 
That  is  the  whole  matter  in  brief,  1  take  it  ?  " 

"  Precisely."  Mr.  Telfer  was  pallid  and  bewildered. 
"It  seems  a  total  impossibility,"  he  said  ;  "a  total, 
absolute,  physical  impossibility  ;  but  there  it  is." 

u  But  as  no  such  thing  as  a  physical  impossibility 
ever  happens,"  Hewitt  replied  calmly,  "we  must 
look  further.  Now,  are  there  any  other  ways  into 
this  room  than  by  that  door  into  the  corridor  ?  I 
see  another  door  here.    What  is  that  ?" 

u  That  door  has  been  locked  for  ages.  The  room 
on  the  other  side  is  one  like  this,  with  a  door  in  the 
corridor ;  it  is  used  chiefly  to  store  old  documents 
of  no  great  importance,  and  I  believe  that  whole 
stacks  of  them,  in  bundles,  are  piled  against  the 
other  side  of  that  same  door.  We  will  send  fur  th< 
key  and  see,  if  you  like." 

The  key  was  sent  for,  and  the  door  from  the 
corridor  opened.  As  Telfer  had  led  us  to  expect 
the  place  was  full  of  old  papers  in  bundles  and 
parcels,  thick  with  ancient   dust,  and  these  thing* 


222  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

were  piled  high  against  the  door  next  his  room,  and 
plainly  had  not  been  disturbed  for  months,  or  even 
years. 

u  There  remains  the  skylight/'  said  Hewitt,  "  for 
I  perceive,  Mr.  Telfer,  that  your  room  is  lighted  from 
above,  and  has  no  window  ;  while  the  grate  is  a 
register.  There  seems  to  be  no  opening  in  that  sky- 
light but  the  revolving  ventilator.    Am  I  right  ?  " 

"  Quite  so.  There  is  no  getting  in  by  the  skylight 
without  breaking  it,  and,  as  you  see,  it  has  not  been 
broken.  Certainly  there  are  men  on  the  roof  re- 
pairing the  leads,  but  it  is  plain  enough  that  nobody 
has  come  that  way.  The  thing  is  wholly  inexplic- 
able." 

"At  present,  yes,"  Hewitt  said,  musingly.  He 
stood  for  a  few  moments  in  deep  thought. 

"  Plummer  is  longer  away  than  I  expected,"  he 
said  presently.  "  By  the  way,  what  was  the  external 
appearance  of  the  missing  code  ? " 

"  It  was  nothing  but  a  sort  of  thin  manuscript 
book,  made  of  a  few  sheets  of  foolscap  size,  sewn 
in  a  cover  of  thickish  grey  paper.  I  left  it  in  the 
safe  doubled  lengthwise,  and  tied  with  tape  in  the 
middle." 

44  Its  loss  is  a  very  serious  thing,  of  course  ? " 

"  Oh,  terribly,  terribly  serious,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  Telfer 
replied,  despairingly.   4i  I  am  responsible,  and  it  will 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE 

put  an  end  to  my  career,  of  course.  But  the  con- 
sequences to  the  country  are  more  important,  and 
they  may  be  disastrous— enormously  so.  A  great 
sum  would  be  paid  for  that  code  on  the  Continent, 
I  need  hardly  say." 

*  But  now  that  you  know  it  it  taken,  surely  the 
code  can  be  changed  ?  " 

"  It's  not  so  easy  as  it  seems,  Mr.  Hewitt,"  Telfer 
answered,  shaking  his  head.  "  It  means  time,  and  I 
needn't  tell  you  that  with  affairs  in  their  present 
state  we  can't  afford  one  moment  of  time.  Some 
expedients  are  being  attempted,  of  course,  but  you 
will  understand  that  any  new  code  would  have  to 
be  arranged  with  scattered  items  of  the  fleet  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  that  probably  with  the  pre- 
sent code  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Moreover, 
all  our  messages  already  sent  will  be  accessible  with 
very  little  trouble,  and  they  contain  all  our 
strategical  coaling  and  storing  dispositions  for  a 
great  war,  Mr.  Hewitt ;  and  they  can't,  they  can't  be 
altered  at  a  moment's  notice  !  Oh,  it  is  terrible  1  .  .  . 
But  here  is  Inspector  Plummer.  No  news,  I  sup- 
pose, Mr.  Plummer  ?  " 

"  Well,  no,"  Plummer  answered  deliberately.  "  I 
can't  say  I've  any  news  for  you,  Mr.  Telfer,  just  yet 
But  I  want  to  talk  about  a  few  things  to  Mr. 
Hewitt.     Hadn't  we  better    go    and    see    if    your 


224  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

telegram  is  answered,  Mr.  Hewitt  ?  Unless  you've 
heard/' 

"No,  I  haven't,"  Hewitt  replied.  "We'll  go  on 
at  once.  Good-day  for  the  present,  Mr.  Telfer.  I 
hope  to  bring  good  news  when  next  I  see  you." 

"  I  hope  so,  too,  Mr.  Hewitt,  most  fervently," 
Telfer  answered ;  and  his  looks  confirmed  his 
words. 

We  walked  in  silence  through  the  corridor,  down 
the  stairs,  and  out  by  the  gates  into  the  street.  Then 
Plummer  turned  on  his  heel  and  faced  Hewitt. 

"That  man's  a  wrong  'un,"  he  said,  abruptly, 
jerking  his  thumb  in  the  direction  of  the  office  we 
had  just  left.     "  I'll  tell  you  about  it  in  the  cab." 

As  soon  as  our  cab  was  started  on  its  way  back 
to  Hewitt's  office  Plummer  explained  himself. 

"  He's  been  watched,"  he  said,  "  has  Mr.  Telfer, 
when  he  didn't  know  it ;  and  he'll  be  watched  again 
for  the  rest  of  to-day,  as  I've  arranged.  Whafs 
more,  he  won't  be  allowed  to  leave  the  office  this 
evening  till  I  have  seen  him  again,  or  sent  a  message. 
No  need  to  frighten  him  too  soon — it  mightn't  suit 
us.     But  he's  in  it,  alone  or  in  company  1 " 

"  How  do  you  know  ?" 

"  I'll  tell  you.  It  seems  the  lead  roofs  are  being 
repaired  at  the  Admiralty,  and  the  plumbers  are 
walking  about  where  they  like.     Now  I  needn't  tell 


THE   ADMIRALTY  CODE       225 

you  I've  had  a  man  or  two  fishing  about  among  the 
doorkeepers  and  so  on  at  the  Admiralty,  and  one  of 
them  found  a  plumber  he  knew  slightly,  working 
on  the  roof.  That  plumber  happens  to  be  no  fool — 
a  bit  smarter  than  the  detective-constable,  it  seems 
to  me,  in  fact.  Anyhow,  he  seems  to  have  got  more 
out  of  my  man  than  my  man  got  out  of  him  ;  and 
soon  after  I  reached  the  Yard  he  turned  up,  asking 
to  see  me.  He  said  he'd  heard  that  a  valuable  paper 
was  missing  (he  did't  know  what)  from  the  room 
with  the  skylight  in  the  top  floor,  where  the  gentle- 
man with  the  single  eye-glass  was,  and  where  the 
safe  was  let  in  the  wall ;  and  he  wanted  to  know 
what  would  be  the  reward  for  anybody  giving 
information  about  it  Of  course  I  couldn't  make 
any  promise,  and  I  gave  him  to  understand  that  he 
would  have  to  leave  the  amount  of  the  reward  to 
the  authorities,  if  his  information  was  worth  any- 
thing ;  also,  that  we  were  getting  to  work  fast,  and 
that  if  he  wished  to  be  first  to  give  information  he'd 
better  be  quick  about  it ;  but  I  promised  to  make  a 
special  report  of  his  name  and  what  he  had  to  say 
if  it  were  useful.  And  it  will  be,  or  I'm  vastly  mis- 
taken !  For  just  you  see  here.  Our  friend,  Mr. 
Telfer,  says  he  put  that  code  safely  away  at  10.20  in 
the  safe,  and  that  he  never  went  to  the  sate  <tg-in 
till  12.20,  when  the  Controller's  secretary  was  with 

f 


226  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

him;  never  went  to  it  for  anything  whatever, 
observe.  Well,  the  plumber  happened  to  be  near 
the  skylight  at  half-past  eleven,  and  he  is  prepared 
to  swear  that  he  saw  Mr.  Telfer — '  the  gent  with  the 
eye-glass,'  as  he  calls  him — go  to  the  safe,  unlock  it, 
take  out  a  grey  paper,  folded  lengthwise,  with  red 
tape  round  it,  re-lock  the  safe,  and  carry  that  paper 
out  into  the  corridor  I  The  plumber  was  kneeling 
by  a  brazier,  it  seems,  which  was  close  by  the  sky- 
light, and  he  is  so  certain  of  the  time  because  he 
was  regulating  his  watch  by  Westminster  Hall  clock, 
and  compared  it  when  the  half-hour  struck,  which 
was  just  while  Telfer  was  absent  in  the  corridor  with 
the  paper.  He  was  only  gone  a  second  or  two,  and 
you  will  remember  that  Corder  saw  Mayes  leaving 
the  premises  within  two  minutes  of  that  time  1 " 

"Yes!" 

"  Well,  Telfer  was  back  in  a  second  or  two,  with- 
out the  paper,  and  went  on  with  his  affairs  as  before. 
That's  pretty  striking,  eh  ?  " 

'*  Yes,"  Hewitt  answered  thoughtfully,  "  it  is." 

"  It  was  a  sort  of  shot  in  the  dark  on  the  part  of 
the  plumber,  for  he  knew  nothing  else — nothing 
about  Telfer  legitimately  having  the  keys  of  the  safe, 
nor  any  of  the  particulars  we  have  been  told.  He 
merely  knew  that  a  paper  was  missing,  and  having 
seen  a  paper  taken  out  of  the  safe  he  got  it  into  his 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       227 

head  that  he  had  possibly  witnessed  the  theft ;  and 
he  kept  his  knowledge  to  himself  till  he  could  see 
somebody  in  authority.  Mighty  keen,  too,  about  a 
reward  I" 

"  And  now  you  are  having  Telfer  supervised  ?  " 
"I  am.     Not  that  we're   likely  to  get  the  code 
from    him ;    that's    passed    out,  sure    enough,   in 
Mayes's  hands — or  else  his  pockets," 

To  this  confident  expression  of  opinion  Hewitt 
offered  no  reply,  and  presently  we  alighted  at  his 
office,  eager  to  learn  if  Peytral  had  given  the 
information  Hewitt  so  much  desired.  Sure  enough 
a  telegram  was  there,  and  it  ran  thus  : 

"  On  the  night  you  know  of,  Mayes  went  first  to 
37  Raven  Street,  Blackfriars,  then  to  8  Norbury 
Row,  Barbican.     Message  follows." 

44  Now  we're  at  work,"  Hewitt  said,  briskly,  u  and 
for  a  while  we  part.  I  shall  make  a  few  changes 
of  dress,  and  go  to  take  a  look  at  37  Raven  Street, 
Blackfriars.  Will  you  two  go  on  to  Norbury  Row  ? 
You'll  have  to  be  careful,  Plummer,  and  not  show 
yourself.  That  is  where  Brett  will  be  useful,  since 
he  isn't  known  ;  if  anybody  is  to  be  seen  let  it  be 
him.  I  shall  be  very  careful  myself — though  I  shall 
have  some  little  disguise ;  and  I  fancy  I  shall  not 
be  so  likely  to  be  seen  as  you." 


228  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

44  What  are  we  to  do  ?  "  I  asked. 

u  Well,  of  course,  if  you  see  Mayes  in  the  open, 
grab  him  instantly.  I  needn't  tell  Plummer  that. 
I  think  Plummer  would  naturally  seize  him  on  the 
spot,  rush  him  off  to  the  nearest  station  and  go 
back  with  enough  men  to  clear  out  No.  8  Nor- 
bury  Row.  If  you  don't  see  him  you'll  keep  an 
observation,  according  to  Plummer's  discretion. 
But,  unless  some  exceptional  chance  occurs,  I 
hope  you  won't  go  rushing  in  till  we  communicate 
with  each  other — we  must  work  together,  and  I 
may  have  news.  My  instinct  seems  to  tell  me  that 
yours  is  the  right  end  of  the  stick,  at  Barbican. 
But  we  must  neglect  nothing,  and  that  is  why  I 
want  you  to  hold  on  there  while  I  make  the 
necessary  examination  at  the  other  end.  Do  you 
know  this  Norbury  Row,  Plummer  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  know  every  street  and  alley  in  the 
City,"  Plummer  answered.  "  There  is  a  very  good 
publican  at  the  corner  of  Norbury  Row,  who's  been 
useful  to  the  police  a  score  of  times.  He  keeps  his 
eyes  open,  and  I  shall  be  surprised  if  he  can't  give 
us  some  information  about  No.  8,  anyhow.  Moon's 
his  name,  and  the  house  is  'The  Compasses.'  I 
shall  go  there  first.  And  if  you've  any  message  to 
send,  send  it  through  him.     I'll  tell  him." 

On  the  stairs  Plummer  and  I  encountered  another 


THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE       229 

of  his  assistants.  *  I've  got  the  cab,  sir,"  he  reported. 
44  Waiting  outside  now.  Took  up  a  fare  in  White- 
hall, opposite  the  Admiralty,  and  drove  him  to 
Charterhouse  Street ;  got  down  just  by  the  Meat 
Market.    That's  all  the  man  seems  to  know." 

Plummer  questioned  the  cabman,  and  found  that 
as  a  matter  of  fact  that  was  all  he  did  know.  So, 
telling  him  to  wait  to  take  us  our  little  journey,  we 
returned  and  reported  his  information  to  Hewitt. 

44  Just  as  I  expected,"  he  said,  quietly.  "  Re 
stopped  the  cab  a  bit  short  of  his  destination,  of 
course, — just  as  you  will,  no  doubt.  There's  not  a 
great  deal  in  the  evidence,  but  it  confirms  my  idea." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   CASE   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE    (CONTINUED) 

We  followed  Mayes's  example  by  stopping  the  cab 
in  Charterhouse  Street,  and  walking  the  short 
remaining  distance  to  Barbican.  Norbury  Row 
was  an  obscure  street  behind  it,  at  the  corner  of 
which  stood  "The  Compasses,"  the  public-house 
which  Plummer  had  mentioned.  We  did  not  ven- 
ture to  show  ourselves  in  Norbury  Row,  but 
hastened  into  the  nearest  door  of  u  The  Compasses/' 
which  chanced  to  be  that  of  the  private  bar. 

A  stout,  red-faced,  slow-moving  man  with  one 
eye  and  a  black  patch,  stood  behind  the  bar. 
Plummer  lifted  his  finger  and  pointed  quickly  toward 
the  bar-parlour ;  and  at  the  signal  the  one-eyed  man 
turned  with  great  deliberation  and  pulled  a  catch 
which  released  the  door  of  that  apartment,  close  at 
our  elbows.  We  stepped  quickly  within,  and  pre- 
sently the  one-eyed  man  came  rolling  in  by  the 
other  door. 

u  Well,  good  art'noon,  Mr.  Plummer,  sir,"  he  said, 


THE  ADMIRALTY  CODE       231 

with  a  long  intonation  and  a  wheeze.     "  Good  art'- 
noon,  sir.    You've  bin  a  stranger  lately." 

u  Good  afternoon,  Mr.  Moon,"  Plummer  answered, 
briskly.  "We've  come  for  a  little  information,  my 
friend  and  I,  which  I'm  sure  you'll  give  us  if  you 
can. 

"All  the  years  I've  been  knowed  to  the  police," 

answered  Mr.    Moon,    slower  and   wheezier  as  he 

went  on,  "I've  alius  give  'em  all    the   information 

I  could,  an'  thaf  s  a  fact.    Ain't  it,  Mr.  Plummer  ?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course,  and  we  don't  forget  it.    What  we 

want  now " 

"  Alius  tell  'em  what — ever  I  knows,"  rumbled  Mr. 
Moon,  turning  to  me,  "  alius  ;  an'  glad  to  do  it,  too. 
'Cause  why  ?  Ain't  they  the  police  ?  Very  well 
then,  I  tells  'em.    Alius  tells  'em  1 " 

Plummer  waited  patiently  while  Mr.  Moon  stared 
solemnly  at  me  after  this  speech.  Then,  when  the 
patch  slowly  turned  in  my  direction  and  the  eye  in 
his,  he  resumed,  "  We  want  to  know  if  you  know 
anything  about  No.  8  Norbury  Row  ?  " 

"Number  eight,"  Mr.  Moon  mused,  gazing 
abstractedly  out  of  the  window  ;  "  num — ber  eight. 
Ground-floor,  Stevens,  packing-case  maker;  first- 
floor,  Hurt,  agent  in  fancy-goods ;  second-floor, 
dunno.  Name  o'  Richardson,  bookbinder,  on  the 
door,  but   thaf s  bin   there  five   or  six  year  now, 


232  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

and  it  ain't  the  same  tenant.  Richardson's  dead, 
an'  this  one  don't  bind  no  books  as  I  can  see.  I 
don't  even  remember  seein'  him  very  often.  Tallish, 
darkish  sort  o'  gent  he  is,  and  don't  seem  to  have 
many  visitors.  Well,  then  there's  the  top-floor — but 
I  s'pose  it's  the  same  tenant.  Richardson  used  to 
have  it  for  his  workshop.     That's  all." 

"  Have  you  got  a  window  we  can  watch  it  from  ?  " 

Mr.  Moon  turned  ponderously  round  and  without 
a  word  led  the  way  to  the  first  floor,  puffing  enor- 
mously on  the  stairs. 

44  You  can  see  it  from  the  club-room,"  he  said  at 
length, 4i  but  this  'ere  little  place  is  better." 

He  pushed  open  a  door,  and  we  entered  a  small 
sitting-room.  u  Thaf  s  the  place,"  he  said,  pointing. 
"There's  a  new  packing-case  a-standing  outside 
now." 

Norbury  Row  presented  an  appearance  common 
enough  in  parts  of  the  city  a  little  way  removed  from 
the  centre.  A  street  of  houses  that  once  had 
sheltered  well-to-do  residents  had  gradually  sunk  in 
the  world  to  the  condition  of  tenement-houses,  and 
now  was  on  the  upward  grade  again,  being  let  in 
floors  to  the  smaller  sort  of  manufacturers,  and  to  such 
agents  and  small  commercial  men  as  required  cheap 
offices.  No.  8  was  much  like  the  rest.  A  packing-case 
maker  had  the  ground-floor,  as  Moon  had  said,  and  a 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       233 

token  of  his  trade,  in  the  shape  of  a  new  packing-case, 
stood  on  the  pavement.  The  rest  of  the  building 
showed  nothing  distinctive. 

"There  y'are,  gents,"  said  Mr.  Moon,  "if  you 
want  to  watch,  you're  welcome,  bein'  the  p'lice, 
which  I  alius  does  my  best  for,  alius.  But  you'll 
have  to  excuse  me  now,  'cos  o'  the  bar." 

Mr.  Moon  stumped  off  downstairs,  leaving  Plummer 
and  myself  watching  at  the  window. 

"  Your  friend  the  publican  seems  very  proud  of 
helping  the  police,*  I  remarked. 

Plummer  laughed.  "Yes,"  he  said,  "or  at  any 
rate,  he  is  anxious  we  shan't  forget  it  You  see,  if s 
in  some  way  a  matter  of  mutual  accommodation. 
We  make  things  as  easy  as  possible  for  him  on 
licensing  days,  and  as  he  has  a  pretty  extensive 
acquaintance  among  the  sort  of  people  we  often  want 
to  get  hold  of,  he  has  been  able  to  show  his  gratitude 
very  handsomely  once  or  twice." 

The  house  on  which  our  eyes  were  fixed  was  a  little 
too  far  up  the  street  for  us  to  see  perfectly  through 
the  window  of  the  second-floor,  though  we  could 
see  enough  to  indicate  that  it  was  furnished  as  an 
office.  We  agreed  that  the  unknown  second-floor 
tenant  was  more  likely  to  be  our  customer,  or  con- 
nected with  him,  than  either  of  the  others.  Still,  we 
much  desired  a  nearer  view,  and  presently,  since  the 


234  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

coast  seemed  clear,  Plummer  anounced  his  intention 
of  taking  one. 

He  left  me  at  the  post  of  observation,  and  pre- 
sently I  saw  him  lounging  along  on  the  other  side 
of  the  way,  keeping  close  to  the  houses,  so  as  to 
escape  observation  from  the  upper  windows.  He 
took  a  good  look  at  the  names  on  the  door-post  of 
No.  8,  and  presently  stepped  within. 

I  waited  five  or  six  minutes,  and  then  saw  him 
returning  as  he  had  come. 

H  It's  the  top  floors  we  want,"  he  said,  when  he 
rejoined  me  in  Mr.  Moon's  sitting-room.  "The 
packing-case  maker  is  genuine  enough,  and  very 
busy.  So  is  the  fancy-goods  agent  I  went  in, 
seeing  the  door  wide  open,  and  found  the  agent,  a 
little,  shop-walkery  sort  of  chap,  hard  at  work  with 
his  clerk  among  piles  of  cardboard  boxes.  I  wouldn't 
go  further,  in  case  I  were  spotted.  Do  you  think 
you'd  be  cool  enough  to  do  it  without  arousing  sus- 
picion ?  Mayes  doesn't  know  you,  you  see.  What 
do  you  think  ?  We  don't  want  to  precipitate  matters 
till  we  hear  from  Hewitt,  but  on  the  other  hand  I 
don't  want  to  sit  still  as  long  as  anything  can  be 
ascertained.  You  might  ask  a  question  about  book- 
binding." 

44  Of  course,"  I  said.  *  If  you  will  let  me  I'll  go  at 
once — glad  of  the  chance  to  get  a  peep.    I'll  bespeak 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE      235 

a  quotation  for  binding  and  lettering  a  thousand 
octavos  in  paste  grain,  on  behalf  of  some  convenient 
firm  of  publishers.  That  would  be  technical  enough, 
I  think?" 

I  took  my  hat  and  walked  out  as  Plummer  had 
done,  though,  of  course,  I  approached  the  door  of 
No.  8  with  less  caution.  The  packing-case  maker's 
men  were  hammering  away  merrily,  and  as  I  mounted 
the  stairs  I  saw  the  little  fancy-goods  agent  among 
his  cardboard  boxes,  just  as  Plummer  had  said.  The 
upper  part  of  the  house  was  a  silent  contrast  to  the 
busy  lower  floors,  and  as  I  arrived  at  the  next  land- 
ing I  was  surprised  to  see  the  door  ajar. 

I  pushed  boldly  in,  and  found  myself  alone  in  a 
good-sized  room  plainly  fitted  as  an  office.  There 
were  two  windows  looking  on  the  street,  and  one  at 
the  back,  more  than  half  concealed  behind  a  ground 
glass  partition  or  screen.  I  stepped  acrcss  and 
looked  out  of  this  window.  It  looked  on  a  narrow 
space,  or  well,  of  plain  brick  wall,  containing  nothing 
but  a  ladder,  standing  in  one  corner.  And  the  only 
other  window  giving  on  this  narrow  square  space 
was  in  the  opposite  wall,  but  much  lower,  on  the 
ground  level. 

I  saw  these  things  in  a  single  glance,  and  then  I 
turned — to  find  myself  face  to  face  with  a  tallish, 
thin,  active  man,  with  a  pale,  shaven,  ascetic  face, 


236  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

dark  hair,  and  astonishingly  quick  glittering  black 
eyes.  He  stood  just  within  the  office  door,  to  which 
he  must  have  come  without  a  sound,  looking  at  me 
with  a  mechanical  smile  of  inquiry,  while  his  eyes 
searched  me  with  a  portentous  keenness. 

lt  Oh,"  I  said,  with  the  best  assumption  of  careless- 
ness I  could  command,  u  I  was  looking  for  you,  Mr. 
Richardson.  Do  you  care  to  give  a  quotation  for 
binding  at  per  thousand  crown  octavo  volumes  in 
paste  grain,  plain,  with  lettering  on  back  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  the  man  with  the  eyes,  "  I  don't ; 
I'm  afraid  my  carelessness  has  led  you  into  a  mis- 
take. I  am  not  Richardson  the  bookbinder.  He 
was  my  predecessor  in  this  office,  and  I  have  neg- 
lected to  paint  out  his  name  on  the  doorpost." 

I  hastened  to  apologise.  H  I  am  sorry  to  have  in- 
truded," I  said.  "  I  found  the  door  ajar  and  so  came 
in.  You  see  the  publishing  season  is  beginning,  and 
our  regular  binders  are  full  of  work,  so  that  we  have 
to  look  elsewhere.    Good-day  1 " 

u  Good-day,"  the  keen  man  responded,  turning  to 
allow  me  to  pass  through  the  door.  "  I'm  sorry  I 
cannot  be  of  service  to  you — on  this  occasion." 

From  first  to  last  his  eyes  had  never  ceased  to 
search  me,  and  now  as  I  descended  the  stairs  I 
could  feel  that  they  were  fixed  on  me  still. 

I  took  a  turn  about  the  houses,  in  order  not  to  be 


THE  ADMIRALTY  CODE       237 

observed  going  direct  to  "The  Compasses/'  and 
entered  that  house  by  way  of  the  private  bar,  as 
before* 

"That  is  Mayes,  and  no  other,"  said  Plummer, 
when  I  had  made  my  report  and  described  the  man 
with  the  eyes.  "  I've  seen  him  twice,  once  with  his 
beard  and  once  without.  The  question  now  is, 
whether  we  hadn't  best  sail  in  straight  away  and 
collar  him.  But  there's  the  window  at  the  back,  and 
a  ladder,  I  think  you  said.    Can  he  reach  it  ?" 

44 1  think  he  might — easily." 

"And  perhaps  there's  the  roof,  since  he's  got  the 
top  floor  too.  Not  good  enough  without  some  men 
to  surround  the  house.  We  must  go  gingerly  over 
this.  One  thing  to  find  out  is,  what  is  the  building 
behind  ?  Ah,  how  I  wish  Mr.  Hewitt  were  here 
now !  If  we  don't  hear  from  him  soon  we  must 
send  a  message.  But  we  mustn't  lose  sight  of  No.  8 
for  a  moment" 

There  was  a  thump  at  the  sitting-room  door,  and 
Mr.  Moon  came  puffing  in  and  shouldered  himself 
confidentially  against  Plummer.  "  Bloke  down- 
stairs wants  to  see  you,"  he  said,  in  a  hoarse  grunt 
that  was  meant  for  a  low  whisper.  44  Twigged  you 
outside,  I  think,  an'  says  he's  got  somethink  partickler 
to  tell  yer.  I  believe  'e's  a  4  nark ' ;  I  see  him  with 
one  o'  youi  chaps  the  othet  day." 


138  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

*  I'll  go,"  Plummer  said  to  me  hurriedly,  "  Plainly 
somebody's  spotted  me  in  the  street,  and  I  may  as 
well  hear  him." 

I  knew  very  well,  of  course,  what  Moon  meant  by 
a  'nark.'  A  'nark'  is  an  informer,  a  spy  among 
criminals  who  sells  the  police  whatever  information 
he  can  scrape  up.  Could  it  be  possible  that  this  man 
had  anything  to  tell  about  Mayes  ?  It  was  scarcely 
likely,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  Plummer  was 
merely  being  detained  by  some  tale  of  a  petty  local 
crime. 

But  in  a  few  minutes  he  returned  with  news  of 
import.  "This  fellow  is  most  valuable,"  he  said. 
"He  knows  a  lot  about  Mayes,  whom,  of  course,  he 
calls  by  another  name  ;  but  the  identity's  certain. 
He  saw  me  looking  in  at  No.  8,  he  says,  and  guessed 
I  must  be  after  him.  He  seems  to  have  wondered 
at  Mayes's  mysterious  movements  for  a  long  time, 
and  so  kept  his  eye  on  him  and  made  inquiries.  It 
seems  that  Mayes  sometimes  uses  a  back  way,  through 
the  window  you  saw  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
little  area,  by  way  of  that  ladder  you  mentioned.  If  s 
quite  plain  this  fellow  knows  something,  from  the 
particulars  about  that  ladder.  He  wants  half  a 
sovereign  to  show  me  the  way  through  a  stable 
passage  behind  and  point  out  where  our  man  can 
be    trapped    to   a   certainty.     IfU   be  a  cheap   ten 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE      239 

shillingsworth,  and  we  mustn't  waste  time.  II 
Hewitt  comes,  tell  him  not  to  move  till  I  come 
back  or  send  a  message,  which  I  can  easily  do 
by  this  chap  I'm  going  with.  And  be  sure  to  keep 
your  eye  on  the  front  door  of  No.  8  while  I'm  gone." 

The  thing  had  begun  to  grow  exciting,  and  the 
fascination  of  the  pursuit  took  full  possession  of  my 
imagination.  I  saw  Plummer  pass  across  the  end 
of  the  street  in  company  with  a  shuffling,  out-at- 
elbows-looking  man  with  dirty  brown  whiskers,  and 
I  set  myself  to  watch  the  door  of  the  staircase  by 
the  packing-case  maker's  with  redoubled  attention, 
hoping  fervently  that  Mayes  might  emerge,  and  so 
give  me  the  opportunity  of  capping  the  extraordinary 
series  of  occurrences  connected  with  the  Red  Triangle 
by  myself  seizing  and  handing  him  over  to  the 
police. 

So  I  waited  and  watched  for  something  near 
another  quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  there  came 
another  thump  at  the  door,  and  once  more  I  beheld 
Mr.  Moon. 

"  Man  askin'  for  you  in  the  bar,  sir,"  he  said. 

" Asking  for  me?"  I  asked,  a  little  astonished. 
*  By  name  ?  " 

u  Mr.  Brett,  'e  said,  sir.  He's  the  same  chap,  you 
know.  He's  got  a  message  from  Inspector  Plum- 
mer, 'e  says." 


140  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

"May  he  come  up  here?*  I  asked,  mindful  of 
maintaining  my  watch. 

m  Certainly,  sir,  if  you  like.     Ill  bring  him." 

Presently  the  shuffling  man  with  the  dirty  whiskers 
presented  himself.  He  was  a  shifty,  villainous-look- 
ing fellow  of  middle  height,  looking  a  "  nark "  all 
over.  He  pulled  off  his  cap  and  delivered  his 
message  in  a  rum-scented  whisper.  u  Inspector 
Plummer  says  the  front  way  don't  matter  now,"  he 
said.  u  'E  can  cop  'im  fair  the  other  way  if  you'll 
go  round  to  him  at  once.  If  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt's 
here  'e'd  rather  'ave  'im,  but  on'y  one's  to  come 
now." 

Naturally,  I  thought,  Plummer  would  prefer 
Hewitt ;  but  in  this  case  I  should  for  once  be  ahead 
of  my  friend,  and  have  the  pleasure  of  relating  the 
circumstances  of  the  capture  to  him,  instead  of 
listening,  as  usual,  to  his  own  quiet  explanations  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  case  had  been  brought  to 
a  successful  issue.    So  I  took  my  hat  and  went. 

u  Best  let  me  go  in  front,"  whispered  the  u  nark." 
"You  bein'  a  toff  might  be  noticed."  It  was  a 
reasonable  precaution,  and  I  followed  him  ac- 
cordingly. 

We  went  a  little  way  down  Barbican,  and  pre- 
sently, taking  a  very  narrow  turning,  plunged  into  a 
cluster  of  alleys,  through  which,  however,  I  could 


THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE       241 

plainly  perceive  that  our  way  lay  in  the  direction  of 
the  back  of  the  house  in  Norbury  Row.  At  length 
my  guide  stopped  at  what  seemed  a  stable  yard, 
pushed  open  a  wicket  gate,  and  went  in,  keeping  the 
gate  open  for  me  to  follow. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  stable  yard,  littered  with  much 
straw,  which  the  "  nark  "  carefully  picked  to  walk  on 
as  noiselessly  as  possible,  motioning  me  to  do  the 
same.  It  was  a  small  enough  yard,  and  dark,  and 
when  my  guide  very  carefully  opened  the  door  of  a 
stable  I  saw  that  that  was  darker  still. 

He  pushed  the  door  wide  so  as  to  let  a  little  light 
fall  on  another  door  which  I  now  perceived  in  the 
brick  wall  which  formed  the  side  of  the  stable. 
After  listening  intently  for  a  moment  at  this  door, 
the  guide  stepped  back  and  favoured  me  with  another 
puff  of  rum  and  a  whisper.  u  There's  no  light  in 
that  there  passage,"  he  said,  "an'  we'd  better  not 
strike  one.     I'll  catch  hold  of  your  hand." 

He  pulled  the  stable  door  to,  and  took  me  by  the 
hand.  I  heard  the  inner  door  open  quietly,  and  we 
stepped  cautiously  forward.  We  had  gone  some  five 
or  six  yards  in  the  darkness  when  I  felt  something 
cold  touch  the  wrist  of  the  hand  by  which  I  was 
being  led.  There  was  a  loud  click,  my  hand  was 
dropped,  and  I  felt  my  wrist  held  fast,  while  I  could 
hear  my  late  guide  shuffling  away  in  the  darkness. 

% 


a4a  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

I  could  not  guess  whether  to  cry  out  or  remain 
quiet.  I  called  after  the  man  in  a  loud  whisper, 
but  got  no  answer.  I  used  my  other  hand  to  feel 
at  my  right  wrist,  and  found  that  it  was  clipped  in 
one  of  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  the  other  being  locked  in 
a  staple  in  the  wall.  I  tugged  my  hardest  to 
loosen  this  staple,  but  it  held  firm.  The  thing  had 
been  so  sudden  and  stealthy  that  I  scarce  had 
time  to  realise  that  I  was  in  serious  danger,  and 
that,  doubtless,  Pluramer  had  preceded  me,  when  a 
light  appeared  at  an  angle  ahead.  It  turned  the 
corner,  and  I  perceived,  coming  toward  me,  carry- 
ing a  lamp,  the  pale  man  of  the  eyes,  whom  I  had 
encountered  not  an  hour  before — in  a  word,  Mayes. 

His  eyes  searched  me  still,  but  he  approached 
me  with  a  curiously  polite  smile. 

"No,  Mr.  Brett,"  he  said,  "my  name  is  not 
Richardson,  and  I  am  not  a  bookbinder.  Not  that 
I  am  particular  about  such  a  thing  as  a  name,  for 
you  have  heard  of  me  under  more  than  one 
already,  and  you  are  quite  at  liberty  to  call  me 
Richardson  if  you  like.  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  talk 
to  you  in  this  uncomfortable  place,  but  the  circum- 
stances are  exceptional.  But,  at  least,  I  should  give 
you  a  chair." 

He  stepped  back  a  little  way  and  pressed  a  bell- 
button.     Presently  the  fellow  who  had  decoyed  me 


THE   ADMIRALTY  CODE      243 

there  appeared,  and  Mayes  ordered  h*m  to  bring  me 
a  chair  at  once,  which  he  did,  with  stolid  obedience. 
I  sat  in  it,  so  that  my  wrist  rested  at  somewhere 
near  the  level  of  my  shoulder. 

"  Mr.  Brett,"  Mayes  pursued,  when  his  man  was 
gone,  "  I  am  not  so  implacable  a  person  as  you 
perhaps  believe  me  ;  in  fact,  I  can  assure  you  that 
my  disposition  is  most  friendly." 

"  Then  unfasten  this  handcuff,"  I  said. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  that  is  a  little  precaution  I  find 
it  necessary  to  take  till  we  understand  each  other 
better.  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Brett,  though  I  am 
sure  you  will  not  think  me  rude  if  I  say  that  I  should 
have  preferred  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt  in  your  place.  But 
perhaps  his  turn  will  come  later.  I  have  a  proposition 
to  make,  Mr.  Brett.     I  should  like  you  to  join  me." 

"To  join  you?" 

u  Exactly."  He  nodded  pleasantly.  *  You  needn't 
shrink  ;  I  shan't  ask  you  to  do  anything  vulgar,  or 
even  anything  that,  with  your  present  prejudices,  you 
might  consider  actively  criminal.  You  can  help  me, 
you  see,  in  your  own  profession  as  a  journalist ;  and 
in  other  ways.  And  my  enterprise  is  greater  than 
you  may  imagine.  Join  me,  and  you  shall  be  a  great 
man  in  an  entirely  new  sphere.  A  small  matter  of 
initiation  is  necessary,  and  that  is  all.  You  have  only 
to  consent  to  that" 


244  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

I  said  nothing. 

"  Ypu  seem  reluctant  Well,  perhaps  it  is  natural, 
in  your  present  ignorance.  This  is  no  vulgar 
criminal  organisation  that  I  have,  understand.  I 
have  taken  certain  measures  to  provide  myself  with 
the  necessary  tools  in  the  shape  of  money,  and  so 
forth,  but  my  aims  are  larger  than  you  suspect — 
perhaps  larger  than  you  can  understand.  And  I 
work  with  a  means  more  wonderful  than  you  have 
experience  of.  For  instance,  here  is  to-day's  work. 
You  know  about  the  lost  Naval  Code,  of  course — it 
is  what  you  came  about.  That  document  is  now 
lying  in  the  desk  you  stood  by  in  the  room  where  we 
spoke  of  paste  grain  book  covers  and  the  like.  It 
was  there  then  at  your  elbow.  It  will  be  sold  for 
many  thousands  of  pounds  by  to-morrow,  and  all  the 
puny  watchings  and  dodgings  that  have  been  devised 
cannot  prevent  it  The  money  will  go  to  aid  me 
in  the  attainment  of  the  power  of  which  you  may 
have  a  part,  if  you  wish.  The  means  of  attaining 
this  I  scruple  no  more  about  than  you  did  to-day 
about  the  story  of  the  bookbindings."  He  bowed 
with  a  slight  smile  and  went  on. 

*  Come  now,  Mr.  Brett,  put  aside  your  bourgeois 
prejudices  and  join  me.  Your  friend  Plummer  is 
coming  gladly,  I  feel  sure,  and  he  will  be  useful,  too. 
And  from  what  I  have  seen  from  Mr.  Martin  Hewitt, 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       a4j 

I  have  no  doubt  I  can  make  it  right  with  him.  If 
I  can't  it  will  be  very  bad  for  him,  I  can  assure 
you  ;  you  have  heard  and  seen  something  of  my 
powers,  and  I  need  say  no  more.  But  Hewitt  is  a 
man  of  sense,  and  will  come  in,  of  course,  and  you 
had  better  come  with  your  friends.  I  want  one  or 
two  superior  men.  Mason — you  know  about  Jacob 
Mason,  of  course — Mason  was  a  fool,  and  he  was 
lost — inevitably.  The  others" — he  made  a  gesture 
of  contempt — "  they  are  mere  vulgar  tools.  They 
will  have  their  rewards  if  they  are  faithful,  of 
course ;  if  not — well,  you  remember  Denson  in  the 
Samuel  diamond  business?  He  was  not  faithful, 
and  there  was  an  end  of  him.  I  may  tell  you  that 
Denson  was  made  an  example,  for  one  was  needed. 
I  assigned  him  a  certain  operation,  and,  having 
brought  it  to  success,  he  endeavoured  to  embezzle 
—did  embezzle — the  proceeds.  He  was  made  a  con- 
spicuous example,  in  a  most  conspicuous  public 
place,  to  impress  the  others.  They  didn't  know  him, 
but  they  knew  well  enough  what  the  Red  Triangle 
meant !  Ah,  my  excellent  recruit — for  so  I  count 
you  already — there  is  more  in  that  little  sign  than 
you  can  imagine  1  It  is  more  than  a  sign — it  is  an 
implement  of  very  potent  power ;  and  you  shall 
learn  its  whole  secret  in  that  little  form  of  initiation 
I  spoke  of.    See  now,  a  present  example.    Telfer, 


246  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

the  Admiralty  clerk,  gave  up  that  document  at  my 
mere  spoken  word.  He  will  deny  it  to  his  dying 
day,  and  he  will  be  ruined  for  the  act ;  but  he  gave 
me  the  paper  himself,  at  my  mere  order.  If  he 
were  one  of  my  own — if  he  had  passed  through  the 
initiation  I  offer  you,  I  would  have  protected  him  ; 
as  it  is,  he  must  take  his  punishment,  and  though 
it  is  only  I  who  will  benefit,  he  will  still  deny  the 
fact !  Ha  !  Mr.  Brett,  do  you  begin  to  perceive  that 
I  do  not  boast  when  I  tell  of  powers  beyond  your 
understanding  ?  " 

Truly  I  was  amazed,  though  I  could  not  half 
understand.  The  circumstances  of  the  loss  of  the 
Admiralty  code  had  been  so  inexplicable,  and  now 
these  incredible  suggestions  of  the  prime  actor  in  the 
matter  were  more  mysterious  still. 

u  Ha  1  you  are  amazed,"  he  went  on,  "  but  if  you 
will  come  further  into  my  counsels  I  will  amaze 
you  more.  What  are  you  now  ?  A  drudge  of  a 
journalist,  and  if  ever  you  make  a  thousand  a  year  to 
feed  yourself  with  you  will  be  lucky.  Come  to  me 
and  you  shall  be  a  man  of  power.  There  is  a 
place  beyond  the  sea  where  I  may  be  king,  and  you 
a  viceroy.  Don't  think  I  am  raving !  It  is  true 
enough  that  I  am  an  enthusiast,  but  I  have  power, 
power  to  do  anything  I  please,  I  tell  you !  What 
are  the  greatest  powers  among  men  on  this  earth  t 


THE  ADMIRALTY  CODE       247 

Some  will  say  the  pen,  or  the  sword,  or  love,  or  what 
not.  Men  of  the  world .  will  say,  money  and  lies ; 
and  they  will  be  very  nearly  right.  Money  and  lies 
will  move  continents,  but  I  have  one  greater 
power  still — the  very  apex  of  the  triangle !  That 
power  I  revealed  to  Jacob  Mason.  He  thought 
to  betray  it,  and  it  killed  him.  That  power  I  will 
reveal  to  you,  if  you  will  accept  the  alternative  I 
offer." 

"The  alternative?" 

u  Yes,  the  alternative,  for  an  alternative  it  is,  of 
course.  If  you  will  go  through  the  form  of  initia- 
tion, I  shall  keep  you  here  a  little  till  I  can  trust  you 
— which  will  be  very  soon.  But  if  not — well,  Mr. 
Brett,  I  wish  to  be  as  friendly  as  you  please,  but 
having  been  at  the  trouble  of  catching  you,  and 
having  got  you  here  safely,  you  who  know  so  much 
now,  you  who  could  be  so  dangerous  if  you  ever 
got  away — eh  ?  Well,  you  know  my  methods,  and 
you  have  seen  them  exemplified,  and  you  will 
understand." 

There  was  no  anger  in  his  voice  as  he  uttered  this 
threat,  nor  even,  I  thought,  in  his  eyes.  But  what 
there  was  was  worse. 

"But  I'm  sure  you  will  not  make  things  un- 
pleasant," he  concluded.  "  You  will  go  through  the 
little  form  I  have  arranged,  if    only  for  curiosity. 


248  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Just  think  over  it  for  a  moment,  while  1  go  to  close 
my  little  office." 

He  took  the  lamp  and  turned  away,  but  as  he 
reached  the  angle  of  the  passage,  there  came  a  sound 
that  checked  his  steps.  I  could  hear  a  noise  of  feet 
and  hurried  voices,  and  then  suddenly  arose  a  shout 
in  a  voice  which  seemed  to  be  Plummets.  u  Here  V 
it  cried.    "  Help  I     This  way,  Hewitt  1  Brett ! " 

I  shouted  back  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  wondering 
where  Plummer  was,  and  what  it  might  all  mean. 
And  with  that  Mayes  turned,  and  I  saw  that  he  was 
about  to  make  for  the  door  I  had  entered  by.  I 
resolved  he  should  not  pass  me  if  I  could  prevent 
it,  and  I  sprang  up  and  seized  my  chair  in  my  left 
hand,  shouting  aloud  for  help  as  I  did  so. 

Mayes  came  with  a  bound,  and  flung  his  lighted 
lamp  full  at  my  head.  It  struck  the  chair  and 
smashed  to  a  thousand  pieces,  and  in  that  instant  of 
time  Mayes  was  on  me.  Plainly  he  had  no  weapon, 
or  he  would  have  used  it ;  but  I  was  at  disadvantage 
enough,  with  my  right  wrist  chained  to  the  wall.  I 
clung  with  all  my  might,  and  endeavoured  to  swing 
my  enemy  round  against  the  wall  in  order  that  I 
might  clasp  my  hands  about  him,  and  I  shouted  my 
loudest  as  I  did  it.  But  the  chair  and  the  broken 
glass  hampered  me,  and  Mayes  was  desperate.  The 
agony  in  my   right  wrist  was  unbeuiable,  and  just 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE       249 

as  I  was  conscious  of  a  rush  of  approaching  feet 
a  heavy  blow  took  me  full  in  the  face,  and  I  felt 
Mayes  rush  over  me  while  I  fell  and  hung  from 

the  wrist. 

I  had  a  stunned  sense  of  lights  and  voices 
and  general  contusion,  and  then  I  remembered 
nothing. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE   CASE   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE    (CONTINUED) 

I  Came  to  myself  on  the  floor  of  a  lighted  room, 
with  Hewitt's  face  over  mine.  My  wrist  seemed 
broken,  though  it  was  free,  there  was  oil  and  blood 
on  my  clothes,  and  in  my  left  hand  I  still  gripped  a 
piece  of  Mayes's  coat. 

"  Stop  him  1 "  I  cried.  "  He's  gone  by  the  stable  ! 
Have  they  got  him  ?  " 

"No  good,  Brett,"  Hewitt  answered  soberly. 
"You  did  your  best,  but  he's  gone,  and  Peytral 
after  him ! " 

"Peytral?" 

"Yes.  He  brought  his  own  message  to  town. 
But  see  if  you  can  stand  up." 

I  was  well  enough  able  to  do  that,  and,  indeed,  I 
had  only  fainted  from  the  pain  of  the  strain  on  my 
wrist.  Several  policemen  were  in  the  room,  beside 
Hewitt  and  Plummer.  Mayes's  stronghold  was  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

Then  1  suddenly  remembered. 

"  The  Admiralty  code  I "  I  cried,  «  It  was  in  the 
office  desk.     Have  you  got  it  ?  " 


THE   ADMIRALTY   CODE       251 

"No,"  Hewitt  answered.  "Come,  Plummer,  up 
the  ladder  1 " 

Little  time  was  lost  in  forcing  Mayes's  desk,  and 
there  the  document  was  found,  grey  cover,  red  tape 
and  all  intact.  The  police  were  left  to  make  a 
vigorous  search  for  any  possible  copy,  and  the 
original  was  handed  to  Plummer,  as  chief  repre- 
sentative of  the  law  present.  He  had  been  trapped 
precisely  as  I  had  been,  except  that  he  had  been  led 
further,  and  shut  in  a  cellar  as  well  as  fastened  by 
the  wrist.  Mayes,  it  seemed,  had  wasted  very  little 
time  in  attempting  to  pervert  him,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that,  whatever  fate  might  have  been  reserved 
for  me,  Plummer  would  never  have  left  the  place 
alive  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  irruption  of 
Hewitt,  with  Peytral  and  the  police. 

In  half  an  hour  Peytral  returned.  He  had  dashed 
out  in  chase  of  the  fugitive,  but  failed  even  to  see 
him — lost  him  wholly  in  the  courts,  in  fact.  For 
some  little  while  he  persevered,  but  found  it  useless. 

The  dirty-whiskered  man  made  no  attempt  to 
escape,  though  there  was  talk  of  another  man  having 
got  away  in  the  confusion  by  way  of  the  stable  roof. 
The  police  were  left  in  charge  of  the  place,  and  we 
deferred  a  complete  exploration  till  the  next  day. 

Hewitt's  tale  was  simple  enough.  He  had  endued 
himself  in  somewhat  seedy  clothes,  and  had  visited 


251  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

37  Raven  Street,  Blackfriars,  which  he  found  to  be 
merely  a  tenement  house.  It  took  some  time  to 
make  inquiries  there,  with  the  necessary  caution, 
because  of  the  number  of  lodgers ;  and  then  the  in- 
quiries led  to  nothing.  It  was  an  experience  common 
enough  in  his  practice,  but  none  the  less  an  annoy- 
ing delay,  and  when  he  returned  to  his  office  he 
found  Mr.  Peytral  already  awaiting  him.  Peytral 
described  his  following  of  Mayes  at  much  greater 
length  and  detail  than  before,  and  he  and  Hewitt 
had  come  on  to  Norbury  Row  at  once  and  asked 
news  of  Mr.  Moon. 

Mr.  Moon's  description  of  the  successive  disap- 
pearances of  Plummer  and  myself,  and  of  our  con- 
tinued absence,  so  aroused  Hewitt's  suspicions  that 
he  instantly  procured  help  from  the  nearest  station, 
and  approached  the  door  of  Mayes's  office.  A  knock 
being  unanswered,  the  door  was  instantly  broken  in. 
The  room  was  found  to  be  unoccupied,  but  the 
ladder  was  still  standing  at  the  open  window,  by 
which  Mayes  had  descended  to  the  back  premises. 
Down  this  ladder  Hewitt  went,  with  the  police  after 
him.   The  rest  I  had  seen  myself. 

u  But  what,"  I  said,  u  what  is  this  mystery  T  Why 
did  Telfer  give  up  the  code,  and  what  is  the  power 
that  Mayes  talks  of  t* 

" It  is  a  power,"  replied  Hewitt,  "that  I  have 


THE   ADMIRALTY    CODE      253 

suspected  for  some  time,  and  now  I  am  quite  sure 
of  it.  A  secret,  dangerous  and  terrible  power  which 
I  have  encountered  before,  though  never  before 
have  I  known  its  possibilities  carried  so  far.  It  is 
hypnotism  1 " 

u  Hypnotism  !"  I  exclaimed.  "But  can  a  person 
be  hypnotised  against  his  will  ?" 

44  In  a  sense,  in  most  cases,  he  cannot.  That  is 
the  explanation  of  Mayes's  proposals  to  you  to  go 
through  a  'form  of  initiation/  If  you  had  con- 
sented, the  'form'  would  have  been  a  process  of 
hypnotism.  Once  or  twice  repeated,  and  you  would 
have  been  wholly  under  his  control,  so  that  if  he 
willed  it  and  forbade  you,  you  could  tell  nothing  of 
what  he  wished  kept  secret,  and  you  would  have 
committed  any  crime  he  might  suggest.  Consider 
poor  Jacob  Mason  I  Remember  how  he  struggled 
to  tell  what  he  knew,  oppressed  by  the  horror  of  it, 
and  how  it  all  ended  !  And  remember  Henning  the 
clerk,  Mayes's  tool  in  that  case  of  bond  robbery  I 
What  has  happened  to  him  ?  He  committed  suicide, 
as  you  know,  immediately  after  Mayes  had  left  htm 
at  the  barn.  Brett,  this  power  of  hypnotism,  a 
power  for  healing  in  the  hands  of  a  good  man, 
may  become  a  terrible  power  for  evil  in  the  hands 
of  a  villain  I " 

44  But  Telfer,  to-day  ?     He  seems  to  have  known 


254  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

nothing  of  Mayes,  and  he  was  not  one  of  his  regular 
creatures — Mayes  himself  told  me  so." 

"  About  that  I  don't  know.  But  I  expect  we  shall 
find  that  he  has  been  willingly  hypnotised  at  some 
time  or  another,  perhaps  more  than  once,  by  this 
same  scoundrel  Mayes.  Possibly  in  one  of  Mayes's 
appearances  in  respectable  society,  at  an  evening 
party,  or  the  like.  In  a  case  of  that  sort  the  hypno- 
tist may  impress  a  certain  formula — a  word,  a  name, 
or  a  number — on  the  subject's  mind,  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  which,  at  any  future  time,  that  same  subject 
may  be  instantly  hypnotised.  So  that,  once  having 
become  hypnotised,  on  any  innocent  occasion,  the 
subject  is  in  the  power  of  the  hypnotist,  more  or 
less,  ever  after.  The  hypnotist  says :  '  When  I 
repeat  such  and  such  a  sentence  or  number  to  you 
in  future,  you  will  be  hypnotised/  and  hypnotised 
the  subject  duly  is,  instantly.  Supposing  such  a  case 
in  this  matter  of  Mr.  Telfer,  it  would  only  be  neces- 
sary for  Mayes  to  meet  him  in  the  corridor,  repeat 
his  formula  and  command  the  victim  to  bring  out 
the  paper  he  specified.  This  done  he  could 
similarly  order  him  to  forget  the  whole  transaction, 
and  this  the  victim  would  do,  infallibly." 

It  is  only  necessary  to  say  here,  parenthetically, 
that  later  inquiry  proved  the  truth  of  Hewitt's  sup- 
position.    Twice  or  three  times  Mr.  Telfer  had  been 


THE  ADMIRALTY   CODE      255 

hypnotised  in  a  friend's  chambers,  by  a  plausible 
tall  man  whose  acquaintance  his  host  had  made  at 
some  public  scientific  gathering.  And  in  the  end  it 
became  possible  to  identify  this  man  with  Mayes. 

Mr.  Moon,  of  u  The  Compasses,"  was  of  great  com- 
fort to  me  that  evening.  My  cuts  and  bruises  were 
washed  in  his  house,  and  my  inner  man  revived 
with  his  food  and  drink. 

"  Alius  glad  to  oblige  the  p'lice,"  said  Mr.  Moon  ; 
*  alius.  'Cos  why  ?  Aiii't  they  the  p'lice  ?  Very 
well  then  I" 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  CHANNEL 
MARSH 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE  ADVENTURE   OF    CHANNEL   MARSH 

Mayes's  stronghold  was  taken,  but  Mayes  had 
escaped  us  once  again  ;  the  cage  was  in  our  hands, 
but  the  bird  had  flown. 

Martin  Hewitt,  however,  had  his  plans,  as  he  was 
soon  to  show.  The  recovery  of  the  Admiralty  code 
was  a  good  stroke,  and  was  a  satisfactory  ending  to 
an  important  case  ;  but  that,  and  even  the  capture 
of  the  curious  premises  behind  the  Barbican,  made 
but  a  halting-place  in  his  pursuit  of  Mayes,  and  as 
soon  as  I  was  in  some  degree  recovered  from  my 
struggle,  and  the  captured  place  had  been  hastily 
searched,  the  chase  was  resumed  without  a  moment's 
delay ;  and  that  adventure  was  entered  upon  which 
saw  the  end  of  the  Red  Triangle  and  its  unholy 
doings — which  came  terribly  near  to  seeing  the  end 
of  Hewitt  himself,  in  fact 

I  have  not  described  the  den  near  the  Barbican 
with  any  great  particularity,  but  I  have  said  that  the 
office,  accessible  from  the  open  street,  was  only 
connected    with    the    hidden    premises    behind — 


a6o  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

premises,  as  was  afterwards  discovered,  held  under 
a  separate  tenancy — by  an  easily-shifted  ladder.  It 
was  in  these  hidden  premises,  approached  by  the 
maze  of  courts  and  the  stable-yard,  that  the  main 
evidences  of  Mayes's  way  of  life  were  observable. 
The  passage  where  my  wrist  had  been  locked  to  the 
wall,  and  the  room  or  cellai  in  which  Plummer 
had  been  confined,  were  the  only  parts  of  the 
lower  premises  fitted  for  the  detention  of  pri- 
soners, with  the  exception  of  one  very  low  and 
wholly  unlighted  cellar,  entered  by  a  trap-door 
and  a  very  steep  flight  of  brick  steps.  This 
place  smelt  horribly  faint  and  stagnant ;  but  it 
produced  on  my  mind,  both  then  and  when  I 
examined  it  later,  an  effect  of  horror  and  repul- 
sion more  than  could  be  accounted  for  by  the 
smell  alone.  Of  its  history  nothing  was  dis- 
covered, and  perhaps  the  feeling  (though  others 
experienced  it  as  well  as  myself)  was  the  effect  of 
mere  fancy ;  but  1  have  never  got  rid  of  a  conviction 
that  that  black  cellar,  or  rather  pit — for  it  was  very 
narrow — had  been  the  instrument  of  crimes  never 
to  be  told. 

There  were  one  or  two  rooms  sparely  furnished — 
one  as  a  bedroom,  a  larger  room,  with  a  long  table, 
a  sofa,  and  several  chairs ;  and  in  one  of  the  smaller 
rooms  was  found  a  stove,  ladles  and  crucibles  for 


CHANNEL   MARSH  261 

the  melting  down  of  metals — gold  or  silver.  It  was 
in  this  same  room  also  that  the  table  stood,  in  the 
drawers  of  which  were  found  papers,  letters  and 
formulas— things  giving  more  than  a  hint  of  the  use 
to  which  Mayes  had  put  his  friendship  with  Mr. 
Jacob  Mason,  for  of  every  possible  manner  and 
detail  in  which  science — more  particularly  the 
science  of  chemistry — could  aid  in  the  commis- 
sion of  crime,  there  were  notes  in  these  same 
drawers. 

But  most  of  these  things  were  observed  in  detail 
later.  The  thing  that  set  us  once  more  on  the 
trail  of  Mayes,  that  very  night  and  that  very 
hour,  was  found  in  the  isolated  office  facing  the 
street  It  was  a  cheque-book,  quite  full  of  unused 
cheques. 

"This  cheque-book,*  said  Hewitt  to  Inspector 
Plummer  and  myself,  "was  in  the  drawer  below 
that  in  which  we  discovered  the  Admiralty  code. 
The  Eastern  Consolidated  is  the  bank,  as  you  see — 
Upper  Holloway  branch.  Now  we  must  follow  this 
at  once,  before  waiting  to  search  any  further.  There 
may  be  something  more  important  as  a  clue,  or  there 
may  not,  but  at  any  rate,  while  we  are  looking  for 
it  we  are  losing  time.    This  may  bring  us  to  him  at 


once." 


You  mean  that  he  may  have  some  address  in 


262  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

Holloway,"  suggested  Plummer,  "and  we  may  get 
it  from  the  bank?" 

44  There's  that  possibility,  and  another,"  Hewitt 
answered.  "He  has  had  to  bolt  without  warning  or 
preparation,  with  nothing  but  the  clothes  he  ran  in 
— probably  very  little  money.  Money  he  will  want 
at  once,  and  he  would  rather  not  wait  till  the 
morning  to  get  it ;  if  he  can  get  it  at  once  it  will 
mean  thirteen  or  fourteen  hours'  start  at  least. 
More,  he  will  know  very  well  that  this  place  will 
be  searched,  that  this  cheque-book  will  be  discovered 
soon  enough,  and  that  consequently  the  bank  will 
be  watched.  This  is  what  he  will  do — what  he  is 
doing  now,  very  likely.  He  will  knock  up  the 
resident  manager  of  that  bank  and  try  to  get  a 
cheque  cashed  to-night  I  don't  think  that  can  be 
done ;  in  which  case  he  will  probably  try  to  make 
some  arrangement  to  have  money  sent  him.  Either 
way,  we  must  be  at  the  Upper  Hollo  way  branch  of 
the  Eastern  Consolidated  Bank  as  soon  as  a  hansom 
can  get  us  there." 

Thus  it  was  settled,  and  Hewitt  and  Plummer 
went  off  at  once,  leaving  Plummer's  men,  with  the 
City  police,  in  charge  of  the  raided  premises ;  leaving 
some  of  them  also  to  make  inquiries  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Mr.  Victor  Peytral  had  shown  himself 
anxious  to  accompany  Hewitt  and   Plummer,  but 


CHANNEL   MARSH  263 

had  been  dissuaded  by  Hewitt.  I  guessed  that 
Hewitt  feared  that  some  hasty  indiscretion  on  the 
part  of  this  terribly  wronged  man  might  endanger 
his  plans.  Peytral,  however,  seemed  tractable 
enough,  and  left  immediately  after  them  ;  he  had 
business,  he  said,  which  he  expected  would  occupy 
him  for  a  day  or  two,  and  when  it  was  completed 
he  would  see  us  again. 

As  for  myself  I  only  remained  long  enough  to 
ascertain  that  the  police  could  find  no  trace  of  the 
direction  of  Mayes's  flight  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. They  had  little  to  aid  them.  He  had 
gone  without  a  hat,  and  his  dress  was  in  some  degree 
disordered  by  his  struggle  with  me ;  but  the  latter 
defect  he  might  easily  have  remedied  in  the  courts 
as  he  ran,  and  they  could  gather  no  tidings  of  a 
hatless  man.  So  I  took  my  way  to  my  office,  my 
wrist  growing  stiffer  and  more  painful  as  I  went,  so 
that  I  was  not  sorry  to  arrange  for  another  member 
of  the  staff  to  take  my  duty  for  the  night,  and  to  get 
to  bed  a  few  hours  earlier  than  usual,  after  the  day's 
fatigue  and  excitement 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  ADVENTURE  OF  CHANNEL  MARSH  (CONTINUED) 

Going  to  bed  uncommonly  soon  I  woke  corre- 
spondingly early  in  the  morning ;  but  I  was  no 
earlier  than  Hewitt,  who  was  at  my  door,  in  fact,  ere 
my  breakfast  was  well  begun. 

"  Well,"  I  asked  eagerly,  almost  before  my  friend 
had  entered,  "  have  you  got  him  at  last  ?  " 

"Not  yet,"  Hewitt  answered.  "But  he  did 
exactly  as  I  had  expected.  Plummer  and  I  knocked 
up  the  bank  manager,  who  lives  over  the  premises  at 
the  Upper  Holloway  branch.  He  was  a  very  decent 
fellow — rather  young  for  the  post — but  he  was 
naturally  a  bit  surprised,  possibly  irritated,  at  being 
bothered  by  one  and  another  after  office  hours.  I 
showed  him  the  cheque-book,  and  asked  him  if  it 
belonged  to  any  customer  of  his. 

tt  i  why,  yes/  he  said,  examining  the  numbers, 4 1 
remember  this  because  it  is  the  first  of  a  new  series, 
and  we  issued  it  the  day  before  yesterday  to  a  new 
customer.    Where  did  you  get  it  1 ' 


CHANNEL   MARSH  165 

"'We  are  very  anxious  to  see  that  customer/  I 
said.     '  Has  he  been  here  this  evening  ? ' 

"The  manager  seemed  a  trifle  surprised,  but 
answered  readily  enough.  '  Yes/  he  said,  '  he  was 
here  not  an  hour  ago.' 

"'Wanting  to  draw  money?'  I  asked.  But  that 
the  manager  wouldn't  tell  me,  of  course.  So  that  it 
was  necessary  for  Plummer  to  step  in  and  reveal  the 
facts  that  this  was  a  police  matter,  and  that  he  was 
a  detective-inspector.  That  made  some  difference. 
The  manager  told  us  that  our  man  had  opened  an 
account  at  the  bank  only  two  days  before ;  and  I'd 
like  you  to  guess  what  name  he  had  opened  it 
under." 

"  Not  Myatt  ?  ■  I  said.     «  After  the  chase m 

"No,  notMyatt." 

"Catherton  Hunt  1" 

44  No,  nor  Catherton  Hunt.  He  had  opened  it  in 
the  name  of  Mayes  I " 

44  What  I  his  actual  name  tm 

44  His  actual  original  name,  according  to  Peytral. 
The  account  was  transferred,  it  would  seem,  from 
another  bank  ;  and  I  have  an  idea  we  may  And  that 
he  has  been  shifting  his  money  about  from  one  bank 
to  another  as  safety  suggested,  using  his  real  name 
with  it  You  remember  we  could  find  no  trace 
of  a  banking  account  when  the  police  raided  and 


a66  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

ransacked  Calton  Lodge  after  Mason  was  killed  f 
Quite  probably  he  has  had  small  current  accounts  in 
other  names  at  various  times  to  aid  in  his  schemes,  but 
his  main  account  has  always  stood  in  his  real  name  ; 
and  by  that,  you  see,  we  get  some  confirmation  of 
Peytrars  story.  Well,  as  I  say,  the  account  was 
opened  in  the  name  of  Mayes,  and  the  cheque-book 
was  issued  which  we  discovered  last  night.  The 
Upper  Hollo  way  branch  saw  no  more  of  its  cus- 
tomer till  yesterday  evening,  long  after  hours,  when 
he  drove  up  in  a  hansom." 

u  Oh,"  I  said,  "  in  a  hansom,  was  it  ?  The  men 
left  behind  could  get  no  news  of  him." 

"Yes,  we  ascertained  that  last  night;  we  called 
back,  of  course,  the  last  thing.  I  expect  he  got  the 
first  cab  visible  and  drove  off  to  a  hatter's  a  fair 
distance  away,  and  then  on  to  the  bank.  At  any 
rate,  he  knocked  up  the  manager  and  told  him  that 
he  had  a  sudden  need  for  money  that  very  night ; 
could  he  have  some  ? 

u  The  manager  told  him  it  would  be  impossible. 
Even  if  he  had  been  willing  to  do  it,  against  all 
regulations,  it  would  still  be  impossible.  For  the 
strong-room  and  every  cash  receptacle  in  it  was 
locked  with  two  separate  locks  with  different  keys, 
and  though  he  had  one  of  these  keys  himself,  it  was 
useless  without  *he  other,  which  was  in  the  posses- 


CHANNEL   MARSH  267 

sion  of  his  second  in  command,  who  lived  some 
distance  out  of  London.  This  course  is  the  usual 
precaution  adopted  in  branch  banks  of  this  sort ; 
opening  and  closing,  morning  and  evening,  have  to 
be  done  by  chief  and  assistant  together.  And  I  tell 
you,  Brett,  I  believe  that  it  was  only  the  being 
informed  of  this  fact  that  prevented  Mayes  from 
trying  some  of  his  hypnotic  tricks  on  the  bank 
manager ;  in  which  case  there  would  have  been  a 
big  bank  robbery — perhaps  something  worse  in 
addition." 

"Murder?" 

u  Murder  with  a  tourniquet,  perhaps — perhaps 
with  some  other  weapon  ;  but,  at  any  rate,  probably 
with  the  Red  Triangle.  You  know,  of  course — 
indeed  I  told  you,  1  think — that  in  most  cases — not 
all — it  is  necessary  to  get  the  subject's  consent  to 
the  first  exercise  of  hypnotism  on  him.  I  told  you 
also  it  is  possible  for  the  practised  hypnotist,  while 
the  subject  is  under  the  influence  of  the  first  experi- 
ment, to  suggest  to  him  a  certain  word  or  formula, 
or  even  a  silent  sign,  which  shall  bring  him  under 
the  influence  at  any  other  time,  whenever  the 
hypnotist  chooses  to  repeat  it — just  as  must  have 
been  done  with  Mr.  Telfer,  in  the  case  of  the  Admi- 
ralty code.  The  first  suggestion  would  not  be  the 
difficult  thing  it  might  seem — it  would  only  require 


268  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

a  little  time  and  persuasion.  Nothing  would  be  said 
about  hypnotism,  of  course ;  perhaps  something 
about  a  little  physical  experiment,  or  the  like,  and 
then  in  a  moment  or  two  the  subject  would  be  in 
this  creature's  power  for  ever.  Remember  the  little 
'  ceremony  of  initiation '  that  the  scoundrel  attempted 
to  persuade  you  to  submit  to  1  That  meant  hypnotism 
— perhaps  death. 

"  But  this  is  mere  speculation.  Mayes  found  that 
the  keys  on  the  premises  were  not  enough  to  release 
his  money,  even  if  the  strict  rules  of  the  bank  had 
permitted  the  cashing  of  a  cheque  out  of  hours. 
But  the  manager  suggested  that  perhaps  some  neigh- 
bouring tradesman  would  exchange  cash  for  a 
cheque,  and,  with  the  view  of  obliging  the  new 
customer,  went  with  him  as  far  as  the  shop  of 
Mr.  Isaac  Trenaman,  a  grocer  and  cheesemonger 
with  a  rather  large  shop  at  the  corner  of  the  road. 
Mr.  Trenaman,  introduced  and  assured  by  the 
manager,  was  willing  to  give  as  much  cash  as  he 
could  tind  in  the  till  against  Mr.  Mayes's  chequef 
and  did  so  to  the  extent  of  twenty-seven  pounds,  a 
cheque  for  which  sum  was  duly  drawn  on  one  of  the 
tradesman's  own  cheque  forms,  and  left  with  him. 
This  done,  the  bank's  new  customer  took  himself 
off,  with  thanks  and  apologies  ;  carrying  with  him, 
however,  two  blank  cheque  forms  from  Mr.  Trena- 


CHANNEL   MARSH  169 

man's  book,  the  pennies  for  which  he  functiliously 
paid  over  the  counter.  Having  no  cheque  forms 
with  him,  he  explained,  he  might  find  them  useful 
if  he  could  come  across  some  friend  who  could  pro- 
vide the  cash  he  wished  to  use  that  night  And 
having  completed  this  business  so  far,  this  charming 
new  customer  of  the  bank  made  off  into  the  night." 
"  And  is  that  all  you  know  01  Ins  movements  '(  " 
"Yes,  as  yet.  He  seems  to  have  made  no  very 
definite  excuse  to  the  manager  for  wanting  the 
money  in  such  a  hurry — just  said  something  had 
occurred  which  made  cash  necessary,  and  was  very 
polite  and  apologetic,  generally.  The  manager 
formed  a  notion  that  it  must  be  for  some  gambling 
purpose — he  fancied  that  Mayes  said  something 
distantly  alluding  to  that;  but  wasn't  sure." 

"Did  you  ask  about  the  address  given  to  the  bank  ?" 
"  Of  course  ;  but  there  we  gained  nothing.  The 
manager  couldn't  remember  it  exactly,  and  the  books, 
of  course,  were  locked  up.  But  we  know  it  already 
— for  what  the  manager  could  remember  was  that 
it  was  an  office  address,  and  somewhere  near  Bar- 
bican 1  So  that  we  are  back  at  the  Barbican  den 
again,  where  I  am  going  now,  with  Plummer,  to  give 
a  day  to  a  minute  investigation  of  the  whole  place. 
Meanwhile  a  watch  is  being  set  at  the  bank  in 
Holloway." 


»7o  THE  RED   TRIANGLE 

44  Do  you  expect  him  back  there,  then  f  * 

44  Hardly.  You  see  he  knows  that  by  this  time  we 
must  have  found  his  cheque-book,  and  will  be  on 
the  watch.  But  there  is  just  a  chance — a  very  re- 
mote one — that  he  may  send  a  message ;  perhaps 
send  somebody  to  cash  a  cheque.  Though  I  don't 
expect  it,  for  he  is  no  fool — he  is,  indeed,  a  sort  of 
genius — and  that  would  be  a  mistake,  I  think.  Still, 
he  is  bold,  and  that  is  where  his  money  is,  and  he 
may  make  a  dash  at  it.  So  a  couple  of  Plummer's 
men  are  to  be  waiting  there,  this  morning,  in  the 
manager's  office,  and  if  anybody  comes  from  Mayes 
he  will  be  detained.  Perhaps  you  would  like  to  be 
with  them  ?  You  can't  be  of  much  use  with  me, 
and  the  job  will  be  dull.  But  there  you  may  have  a 
chance  of  excitement,  and  you  will  be  useful  to 
come  and  report  if  anything  does  happen.  Why, 
you  may  even  bag  Mayes  himself  ! " 

"Of  course — I'll  go  anywhere  you  please.  They 
told  you  last  night,  I  supp)se,  that  Peytral  had 
business,  and  had  gone  off  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  I'm  not  sorry.  He  is  too  dangerous  a 
man  to  have  about  us,  with  his  hot  blood  and  the 
terrible  injuries  he  keeps  in  memory.  As  likely  as 
not,  if  we  get  Mayes,  we  should  next  have  to  collar 
Peytral  for  shooting  him,  or  something.  So  I'm  not 
sorry  he  is  out  of  it  for  a  bit.    But  can  you  start 


CHANNEL   MARSH  271 

now  ?  Plummer  is  in  my  office  and  the  two  men 
are  in  a  cab  outside.  The  bank  opens  at  nine,  and 
that  is  in  Upper  Hollo  way." 

I  seized  my  hat  and  made  ready. 

u  You  should  keep  your  eyes  open,"  Hewitt  hinted, 
44  before  you  get  to  the  bank  and  when  you  leave, 
as  well  as  while  you're  there.  Do  you  remember 
how  poor  Mason  was  watched  ?  Well,  there  is 
probably  some  watching  going  on  now.  Last  night, 
on  our  way  to  the  bank  and  back,  I  believe  Plummer 
and  I  were  watched  pretty  closely/ 


CHAPTER    XXL 

THE  ADVENTURE  OF  CHANNEL  MARSH   (CONTINUED) 

Plummer's  two  plain-clothes  men  and  I  reached 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  bank  with  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  to  spare,  or  rather  more.  We  dismissed  the 
cab  at  some  little  distance  from  the  spot,  and  ap- 
proached singly,  so  that  it  was  not  difficult  for  us 
to  slip  in  separately  among  the  dozen  or  fifteen 
clerks  as  they  arrived.  We  passed  directly  into  the 
manager's  room,  the  door  of  which  opened  into  the 
space  left  for  the  public  before  the  counter.  From 
this  room  the  whole  of  the  outer  office  was  visible 
through  the  glass  of  the  partition.  The  manager, 
Mr.  Blockley,  a  quick,  intelligent  man  of  thirty-six 
or  so,  gave  us  chairs  and  pointed  out  how  best  we 
could  watch  the  counter  without  ourselves  being 
observed. 

"  If  a  letter  is  sent,"  he  said,  "it  will  be  bi ought 
here  to  me,  of  course,  and  I  will  bring  the  mes- 
senger in.  If  a  cheque  is  presented  from  Mayes, 
I  have  told  the  cashier  to  slide  that  big  ledger  off 
hi*   desk  accidentally  with  his   elbow.      That  will 


CHANNEL  MARSH  273 

be  your  signal,  and  then  you  can  do  whatever  you 
think  proper.  I  don't  think  I  can  do  any  more 
than  that." 

We  took  our  positions  and  waited.  I  felt  pretty 
sure  that  if  Mayes  sent  at  all  it  would  be  early,  for 
obvious  reasons.  And  I  was  right,  for  the  very  first 
customer  was  our  man. 

He  stepped  in  briskly  scarcely  a  minute  after 
the  manager  had  ceased  speaking,  and  I  remem- 
bered having  seen  him  waiting  at  the  street 
corner  as  I  came  along.  He  was  a  well-dressed, 
smart  enough  looking  man,  in  frock  coat  and 
tall  hat.  He  took  a  letter-case  from  his  pocket, 
picked  out  a  cheque  from  the  rest  of  the  papers 
in  it,  and  passed  it  under  the  wire  grille  of  the 
counter. 

The  cashier  took  it,  turned  it  over,  and  shifted 
me<  banically  to  post  the  amount  in  the  book  on  his 
desk.  As  he  did  so  his  elbow  touched  the  heavy 
ledger  which  the  manager  had  pointed  out  to 
us,  and  it  fell  with  a  crash.  The  cashier  calmly 
put  his  pen  behind  his  ear,  and  stooped  to 
pick  up  the  book,  but  even  as  he  did  it  the  two 
Scotland  Yard  men  were  out  before  the  counter, 
and  had  sidled  up  to  the  stranger,  one  on  each 
side. 

14  May  we  see  that  cheque,  if  you  please  ?  "  asked 

s 


274  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

one,  and  the  cashier  turned  its  face  toward  him, 
u  Ah,  just  so  ;  a  hundred  pounds — Mayes.  We  must 
just  trouble  you  to  come  with  us,  if  you  please. 
There  is  some  explanation  wanted  about  that 
cheque." 

I  had  followed  the  two  men  from  the  manager's 
room,  and  now  I  saw  that  while  one  had  laid  his 
hand  on  the  stranger's  shoulder  the  other  had 
taken  him  by  the  opposite  arm.  "Why,"  said 
the  former,  looking  into  his  face,  "it's  Broady 
Sims  ! " 

"  All  right,"  the  man  growled  resignedly.  u  It's  a 
cop.     I'll  go  quiet." 

But  as  he  spoke  I  saw  the  free  hand  steal  out  behind 
him  and  pitch  away  a  crumpled  fragment  of  paper. 
One  of  the  policemen  saw  it  too,  followed  it  with 
his  eyes,  and  saw  me  snatch  it  up. 

"  That's  right,  sir,"  he  said,  "  take  care  of  that ; 
and  we'll  have  a  cab,  in  case  anything  else  drops 
accidentally.  It's  just  a  turning  over,  Broady,  that's 
what  it  is." 

I  spread  out  the  piece  of  paper,  and  was 
astonished  to  find  inscribed  on  it  just  such  another 
series  of  figures,  in  groups  of  eight,  as  was  found 
in  the  cypher  message  in  the  Case  of  the  Lever 
Key. 

Here  was  a  great  find — a  secret  message  as  clear 


CHANNEL  MARSH 


*75 


to  me  as  to  Mayes  himself,  and  as  likely  as  not  the 
scrap  of  paper  that  would  hang  him  !  I  took  one  of 
the  plain-clothes  men  aside  while  the  other  kept  his 
hold  of  Broady  Sims. 

"  This  is  very  important,"  I  said.  u  It  is  a  cypher 
message  which  Mr.  Hewitt  can  read — or  I,  myself,  in 
fact,  with  a  little  time.  Must  you  take  it  with  you  ? 
If  so,  I'll  make  a  copy  now." 

"  Well,  sir,  we're  responsible,  you  see,"  the  man 
said,  "  so  I  think  we  must  take  it ;  so  perhaps  you'd 
better  make  a  copy,  as  you  suggest." 

44  Very  well,"  I  said, u  that  is  done  in  a  few  seconds. 
You  can  take  your  man  off,  and  I  will  go  direct  to 
Mr.  Hewitt  and  Inspector  Plummer  with  the  copy." 
And  with  that  I  made  the  copy,  which  read 
thus  : — 


23 

1  x9, 

15, 

h  9f  J4>  9;  2 

;  20,  8,  1, 

20 

,  14; 

14, 

20,  8;  14,  5, 

12,  4,  %  7> 

5, 

H; 

3,8, 

18,  23,  0,  14,  1,  8 ;  22, 

9, 

6,  1, 

18, 

3;  5,  1 ;  19, 

M,  15,  21, 

9; 

0,  20 

,12 

;  18, 12,  21,  i 

t  6,  23,  20, 

12 

;  9, 

18, 

<5,  5,  18,  13, 

12,  20. 

It  struck  me  to  ask  the  manager  if  the  cheque 
just   presented   were   one   of   those  procured  from 


276  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

Mr.  Trenaman  the  night  before,  and  I  found  that  it 
was.  Then  I  left  the  policemen  with  their  prisoner 
and  made  for  the  nearest  cab-rank.  This  cypher 
message,  no  doubt  conveying  Mayes's  instructions 
to  the  man  just  captured,  was  probably  of  the  utmost 
importance,  and  Hewitt  must  see  it  at  once ;  and  as 
the  cab  ambled  along  towards  Barbican  I  busied 
myself  in  deciphering  the  figures  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  knight's  move  in  chess,  as  Hewitt  had 
explained  to  me.  I  could  only  see  two  noughts 
among  the  numbers,  so  plainly  it  was  a  longer 
message  than  the  one  then  deciphered — one  of 
sixty-two  letters,  in  fact.  I  turned  the  figures  into 
the  letters  corresponding  in  the  alphabet,  a  for  i, 
b  for  2,  and  so  on,  as  Hewitt  had  done,  and  I 
arranged  these  letters  in  the  squares  of  a  roughly 
drawn  chessboard,  so  that  they  stood  thus  : — 


CHANNEL   MARSH 


277 


w 

s 

0 

a 

i 

n 

i 

b 

t 

h 

a 

t 

n 

n 

t 

h 

n 

e 

I 

d 

i 

g 

e 

n 

c 

h 

r 

w 

o 

n 

a 

h 

V 

i 

f 

a 

t 

c 

e 

a 

s 

n 

0 

u 

i 

o 

t 

I 

r 

I 

u 

a 

f 

w 

t 

I 

i 

r 

0 

e 

r 

m 

I 

i 

The  letters  thus  set  out,  to  read  off  the  message 
was  a  simple  task  enough,  in  view  of  the  key  Hewitt 
had  given  me.  I  began,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Lever 
Key  message,  at  the  right-hand  top  corner,  and 
taking  the  knight's  move  from  b  to  e  in  the  last 
square  but  one  of  the  third  line,  thence  to  a  at  the 
end  of  the  fifth  line,  and  so  to  t  in  the  seventh 
line,  and  from  that  to  r  (fifth  square  in  bottom  line), 
u  in  seventh  line  and  so  on,  in  the  order  shown  by 
the  Lever  Key  message,  a  copy  of  which  I  kept  as  a 
curiosity  in  my  pocket-book.  So  I  read  the  message 
through,  and  I  set  it  down  thus  : — 

Be  at  ruin  Channel  Marsh  to-night  twelve  /  wait  in 
hall  for  instruc*     Word  final. 


278  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

The  general  meaning  of  this  seemed  clear  enough. 
The  man  whom  the  policeman  had  recognised  as 
Broady  Sims  was  to  be  at  some  spot — a  ruined 
building,  it  would  seem — in  a  place  called  Channel 
Marsh,  at  midnight,  there  to  wait  in  the  hall  for 
instructions ;  no  doubt  for  instructions  where  to 
take  the  hundred  pounds  he  was  to  have  got  from 
the  bank.  "  Word  final "  was  not  so  clear,  though  I 
judged — and  I  think  rightly — that  it  meant  that  the 
word  "final"  was  to  be  used  as  a  pass-word  by 
which  the  two  messengers  should  know  each 
other. 

I  was  almost  at  my  destination,  and  was  cogitating 
the  message  and  its  meaning,  when  the  cab  checked 
at  some  traffic  in  Barbican,  just  by  the  "Compasses" 
public-house,  and  Mr.  Victor  Peytral  hailed  me  and 
climbed  on  the  step  of  the  cab. 

"  I  was  just  going  to  see  if  Mr.  Hewitt  was  at  the 
place,"  he  said,  u  and  if  so  to  ask  him  for  news.  But 
I  am  rather  in  a  hurry,  and  perhaps  you  can  tell 
me?" 

"  We  are  on  the  track,  I  think,"  I  answered,  *  and 
1  have  just  come  across  this,  which  I  am  taking  to 
Hewitt,"  and  with  that  I  showed  him  my  translation 
of  the  cypher,  and  gave  him  its  history  in  half  a 
dozen  sentences. 

44  Thafs  good,"  Peytral  answered.    u  I  don't  know 


CHANNEL   MARSH  279 

Channel  Marsh,  do  you  ?  But  probably  Mr.  Hewitt 
does.  I  won't  keep  you  any  longer — I  see  you're 
hurrying.  But  I  hope  to  see  you  again  before 
long." 

He  dropped  off  the  step  and  disappeared,  and 
the  cab  went  on  round  the  corner  by  the  "  Com- 
passes." 

I  found  Hewitt  and  Plummer  in  the  office  where, 
on  pretence  of  bookbindery,  I  had  first  seen  Mayes 
face  to  face  the  day  before.  They  were  near  the 
completion  of  their  examination  of  this  office  and 
all  its  contents,  and  soon  would  begin  as  systemati- 
cally on  the  premises  behind.  I  gave  Hewitt  my 
copy  of  the  cypher  message,  and  my  translation,  with 
an  exact  account  of  how  it  had  come  into  my 
possession. 

Martin  Hewitt  studied  the  message  for  a  minute 
or  two,  and  then  relapsed  into  grave  thought.  So 
he  sat  for  some  little  time,  while  Plummer  left  the 
room  by  the  window  and  descended  the  ladder  to 
speak  with  his  men  on  guard  below. 

Presently  Hewitt  looked  up  and  said  :  u  Brett,  this 
message  is  most  important — probably  as  important 
as  you  suppose  it  to  be.  But  at  the  same  time  I 
believe  you  have  made  a  great  mistake  about  it." 

"  But  I  haven't  misread  it,  have  I  ?  Is  there  any 
other  way " 


28o  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

44  No,  you  haven't  misread  it ;  you've  read  every 
word  as  it  was  intended  to  be  read.  But  it  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  what  you  suppose  it  to  be." 

"What  is  it,  then?" 

Martin  Hewitt  put  the  paper  on  the  table  and 
looked  keenly  in  my  face.  "  It  is  a  trap,"  he  said. 
''It  is  a  trap  to  catch  me — unless  I  flatter  myself 
unduly." 

I  could  not  understand,  u  A  trap  ? "  I  repeated. 
"But  how?" 

44  Why  should  Mayes  need  to  send  his  confederate 
instructions  by  written  note  ?  We  know  the  nature 
of  his  hold  over  his  subordinates,  and  we  know  that 
it  means  personal  communication.  Also,  the  cheque 
was  in  Mayes's  own  hands  last  night.  More,  Mayes 
knows  very  well  that  I  have  read  that  cypher — has 
known  it  for  some  time ;  otherwise  how  could  we 
have  discovered  the  bonds  in  the  case  of  the  Lever 
Key  ?  Also,  Mayes  knows  that  we  have  his  cheque- 
book and  know  his  bank.  Didn't  I  assure  you  we 
were  watched  last  night  ?  I  believe  he  knows  all  we 
have  done.  In  such  circumstances  he  might  risk  his 
jackal's  liberty  by  sending  him  on  the  desperate 
chance  of  cashing  a  cheque,  but,  knowing  the  risk, 
he  would  never  have  let  him  come  with  information 
on  him.  And  least  of  all  would  he  have  let  him 
come   carrying  a  vital   secret  written  in   that  very 


CHANNEL   MARSH  281 

cypher  which  he  knows  I  read  many  weeks  ago. 
And  then  see  how  that  message,  instead  of  being 
concealed,  was  positively  brought  to  your  notice ! 
That  man  Broady  Sims  is  a  cunning  rascal,  and  the 
police  know  him  of  old  as  a  skilful  swindler  and 
bill-forger.  A  man  like  that  doesn't  get  rid  of  a 
compromising  scrap  of  paper  by  trundling  it  out 
under  your  nose  just  at  the  moment  he  is  arrested, 
when  the  attention  of  everybody  is  directed  to  him  ; 
no,  he  would  wait  his  opportunity,  and  then  he 
would  probably  slip  it  into  his  mouth  and  swallow 
it.  As  it  is,  he  would  seem  to  have  succeeded  in 
dropping  this  paper  full  in  your  sight,  with  an 
elaborate  pretence  of  secrecy.  Now  this  is  what 
has  been  done,  Brett.  That  man  has  been  sent 
to  cash  a  cheque,  with  very  little  hope  of  suc- 
cess, or  none,  because  the  first  move  that  Mayes 
would  anticipate  on  our  part  would  be  the  watching 
for  him  and  his  cheques  at  the  bank  in  Upper 
Holloway.  If  by  any  chance  the  cheques  had  been 
cashed,  well  and  good,  no  harm  would  have  been 
done,  and  then  Mayes  could  have  gone  on  to  arrange 
for  drawing  the  rest  of  his  balance— could  probably 
have  quite  safely  come  himself  to  draw  it.  But  if 
on  the  other  hand,  as  he  fully  anticipated,  Sims  was 
arrested,  what  then  ?     Nothing  was  lost  but  a  penny 

cheque-form,  and  even  Sims — though  Mayes  would 

I 


28i  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

care  nothing  about  that — could  only  be  searched 
ind  then  released,  for  the  cheque  was  perfectly 
genuine,  and  there  was  no  charge  against  him.  But 
nnce  he  would  certainly  be  searched,  that  cypher 
note  was  given  him,  with  instructions  to  make  a 
conspicuous  show  of  attempting  to  get  rid  of  it. 
Now  that  note  was  written  in  a  cypher  which  Mayes 
knew  was  as  plain  as  print — to  whom  ?  To  me.  I 
am  on  his  trail,  and  this  note  is  deliberately  flung  in 
my  way,  open  as  the  day,  but  with  every  appearance 
of  secrecy.  I  am  his  dangerous  enemy,  and  he 
knows  it — as  he  told  you,  in  fact,  yesterday.  If  he 
can  clear  me  away,  he  can  take  breath  and  make 
himself  safe.  The  purpose  of  this  note  is  to  induce 
me  to  go,  alone,  to  this  place  on  Channel  Marsh 
to-night  at  twelve,  in  the  hope  of  learning  where  to 
find  Mayes.  There  I  am  to  be  got  rid  of — murdered 
in  some  way,  for  which  preparation  will  be  made. 
Mayes  judges  my  character  pretty  well.  He  knows 
that,  in  such  circumstances  as  he  represents,  Sims 
being  kept  away  from  his  appointment,  I  should 
certainly  go  and  take  his  place,  and  use  his  pass- 
word, to  learn  what  I  could.  And,  Brett,  that  is 
precisely  what  I  shall  dot" 

"What  ?  You  will  go?"  I  exclaimed.  "But  you 
mustn't— the  danger!  We'd  better  both  go  to- 
gether." 


CHANNEL   MARSH  183 

Hewitt  smiled.  "Why  not  forty  of  us  ?"  he  said. 
"No.  Here  is  a  chance  of  bagging  our  man,  for, 
however  I  am  to  be  arranged  for — whether  by  shot, 
steel,  or  the  tourniquet,  I  make  no  doubt  it  is  Mayes 
himself  who  is  to  do  it.  You  shall  come,  however, 
you  and  Plummer  at  least.  But  we  will  not  go  in  a 
bunch — you  shall  follow  me  and  watch,  ready  to 
help  when  needful.  This  Channel  Marsh  is  an 
empty,  dark  space  between  two  channels  of  the  Lea. 
It  is  among  the  Hackney  Marshes,  lying  between 
Stratford  and  Homerton,  and  I  fancy  there  is  a 
deserted  house  there,  though  I  can't  remember  ever 
having  seen  it.     Do  you  know  it  ?  " 

"  No  ;  not  in  the  least" 

44  Well,  I  must  reconnoitre  to-day,  and  that  with  a 
lot  of  care.  I  think  I  told  you  I  was  convinced  of 
being  watched,  and  that  is  a  thing  you  can't  prevent 
in  a  place  like  London,  if  it  is  skilfully  done.  Now, 
Brett,  you  have  done  very  well  this  morning.  If  you 
want  to  be  on  the  scene  of  action  to-night  at  twelve, 
you  must  get  leave  from  your  editor,  mustn't  you  ? 
How's  your  wrist  ?  " 

It  was  still  extremely  stiff,  and  I  told  Hewitt  that 
I  doubted  my  ability  to  hold  a  pen  for  two  or 
three  days. 

"  Very  well,  then ;  get  off  and  convey  your 
excuses   as    soon  as   you   please.     I  shall   have  a 


284  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

talk  with  Plummer,  and  then  I  shall  take  a  few 
hours  to  myself,  by  myself,  in  somebody  else's 
clothes.  Be  in  your  rooms  all  the  evening,  for 
you  may  expect  a  message," 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE  ADVENTURE  OF  CHANNEL  MARSH  (CONTINUED) 

It  was  at  a  little  past  nine  in  the  evening  that  I 
next  saw  Hewitt.  He  came  into  my  rooms  in  an 
incongruous  get-up.  He  wore  corduroy  trousers;  a 
very  dirty  striped  jersey,  a  particularly  greasy  old 
jacket,  and  a  twisted  neckcloth ;  but  over  all  was 
an  excellent  overcoat,  and  on  his  head  a  tall  hat  of 
high  polish. 

"  Brought  to  me  by  Kerrett,"  he  said,  in  explana- 
tion of  the  hat  and  overcoat.  u  He's  been  waiting 
with  them  for  a  long  time  in  a  court  by  Milford 
Lane.  A  good  hat  and  overcoat  will  cover  any- 
thing, and  I  preferred  to  enter  this  building  in  my 
own  character.  I've  been  wearing  that  this  after- 
noon," and  he  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  an  old  peaked 
cap  with  ear-pieces  tied  over  the  top. 

"You  mustn't  bring  your  best  clothes,"  he  went 
on, "  or  you'll  spoil  them  scrambling  about  boats  and 
groping  in  ditches.  I  have  done  my  ditch -groping 
tor  the  day,  and    I'm  going  to  change.     You  had 


186  THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

best  be  putting  on  older  things  while  I  get  into 
newer." 

"  What  sort  of  place  is  this  Channel  Marsh  ?  *  I 
asked. 

"Well,  I  should  think  there  must  be  a  great 
many  better  places  to  spend  a  night  in.  It  must 
be  the  dreariest,  wettest  flat  within  many  miles  of 
London,  and  I  should  like  to  see  the  portrait  ol 
the  man  who  had  the  idea  of  building  a  house 
there.  For  a  house  there  is,  or  rather  the  ruins  of  it 
—deserted  for  years,  and  half  carried  away  by  rats 
and  people  who  wanted  slates  and  firewood  and 
water  pipes." 

u  Is  that  the  place  where  you  intend  waiting 
to-night?" 

"It  is.  I  haven't  examined  it  nearly  so  closely 
as  I  should  like,  for  fear  of  raising  a  scare.  Chan- 
nel Marsh  is  almost  an  island,  with  a  narrow  neck 
of  an  entrance  at  each  end.  A  foot-track  runs  the 
whole  length,  and  a  person  in  the  ruined  house  can 
easily  see  anybody  entering  the  Marsh  from  either 
end.  For  that  reason  I  reconnoitred  from  a  boat 
— the  boat  you  will  go  in  to-night.  I  think  it  is 
the  very  dirtiest  old  tub  I  ever  saw,  so  that  it  suited 
my  rig  out.  I  discovered  it  at  a  wharf  some  little 
way  down  the  river,  and  I  paid  a  shilling  for  the 
hire  of  it.     Channel  Marsh  is  banked  a  bit  on  one 


CHANNEL   MARSH  287 

side,  and  I  crept  up  under  cover  of  the  bank.  I 
learned  very  little,  beyond  the  general  lie  of  the 
land,  because  I  was  so  mighty  cautious.  I  judged  it 
better  to  be  content  with  half  an  examination,  rather 
than  drive  away  the  game.  And  even  as  it  is  I've 
an  idea  I  have  been  seen.  I  lay  up  among  some 
reeds  till  dark,  but  after  that  I  am  sure  there  was 
somebody  on  the  Marsh — and  skulking,  too,  like  me. 
So  after  waiting  and  scouting  for  a  little  1  gave  it  up 
and  paddled  quietly  back." 

"  But  look  here,  Hewitt/'  I  said,  "  this  seems  a  bit 
mad.  Why  go  and  risk  yourself  as  you  talk  of  doing  ? 
You  believe  Mayes  will  be  there,  at  the  ruin,  or  will 
come  there  at  twelve.  Very  well,  then,  why  can't  the 
police  send  enough  men  to  surround  the  place  and 
capture  him  for  certain  ?  " 

Hewitt  smiled  and  shook  his  head.  "My  dear 
Brett,"  he  said,  "you  haven't  seen  the  place,  and  I 
have.  It  will  be  hard  enough  job  for  you  and 
Plummer  to  get  near  the  spot  unobserved,  guided  by 
a  man  who  knows  every  inch.  A  trampling  crowd 
of  policemen  would  have  as  much  chance  as  a  herd 
of  elephants,  and  on  such  light  nights  as  we  are 
having  now  they  would  be  seen  a  mile  off.  And  who 
knows  what  scouts  he  may  have  out  ?  No,  as  I  say, 
it  will  be  a  great  piece  of  luck  if  you  get  through 
unobserved  as  it  is,  and  even  now  I'm  not  perfectly 


288  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

certain  that  I  couldn't  do  best  alone.  However, 
arrangements  are  made  now,  and  you  are  coming, 
three  of  you." 

u  Then  what  are  the  arrangements  ?M  asked. 

44  Just  these.  You  are  to  leave  here  first.  Make 
the  best  of  your  way  to  Mile  End  Gate,  where  an 
old  inn  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  road.  Go  to 
the  corner  of  the  turning  opposite  this,  at  the  south 
side  of  the  road.  At  eleven  o'clock  a  four-wheeler 
will  drive  up,  with  Plummer  and  one  of  his  men  in 
it.  The  man  is  one  who  knows  all  the  geography 
of  Channel  Marsh,  and  he  also  knows  exactly  where 
to  find  the  boat  I  used  to-day.  You  will  drive  to 
a  little  way  beyond  Bow  Bridge,  and  then  Plummer's 
man  will  lead  you  to  the  boat.  You  had  better  scull 
and  leave  the  others  to  look  out.  They  will  know 
what  to  do.  You  will  pull  along  to  a  place  where 
you  can  watch  till  you  see  me  coming  on  to  the 
Marsh  by  the  path.  As  soon  as  you  see  me  you 
will  slip  quietly  along  to  a  place  the  policeman  will 
show  you,  close  to  the  ruin,  and  watch  again.  That's 
all.  I  don't  know  whether  or  not  you  think  it  worth 
while  to  take  a  pistol.  I  certainly  shall  ;  but  then 
I'm  most  likely  to  want  it.  Plummer  will  have 
one." 

I  thought  it  well  worth  while,  and  I  took  my 
regulation  u  Webley  " — a  relic  of  my  old  Volunteer 


CHANNEL  MARSH  289 

captaincy.  Then,  by  way  of  the  underground  rail- 
way, I  gained  the  neighbourhood  of  Mile  End,  and 
interested  myself  about  its  back  streets  till  the  time 
approached  to  look  for  Plummets  cab. 

Plummer  was  more  than  punctual — indeed,  he  was 
two  or  three  minutes  before  his  time.  The  cab 
drew  near  the  kerb  and  scarcely  stopped,  so  quickly 
did  I  scramble  in. 

"  Good,"  said  Plummer ;  "  we're  well  ahead  of  time. 
Mr.  Hewitt  quite  right?" 

"Yes,"  I  said.  u  I  left  him  so  an  hour  and  a  half 
ago  at  his  office."  And  we  sat  silent  while  the  cab 
rattled  and  rumbled  over  the  stony  road  to  Bow 
Bridge,  and  the  shopkeepers  on  the  way  put  up 
their  shutters  and  extinguished  their  lights. 

Bow  Bridge  was  reached  and  passed,  and  presently 
we  stopped  the  cab  and  alighted.  Here  Styles, 
Plummer's  man,  took  the  lead,  and  a  little  way 
farther  along  the  road  we  turned  into  a  dark  and 
muddy  lane  on  the  left.  We  floundered  through 
this  for  some  hundred  and  fifty  yards  or  so,  and 
then  suddenly  drew  in  at  an  opening  on  the  right. 
Here  we  stood  for  a  few  moments  while  our  guide 
groped  his  way  down  toward  the  muddy  water  we 
could  smell,  rather  than  see,  a  little  way  before  us. 

There  were  a  few  broken  steps  and  a  broad  black 
thing    which   was    the    boat.    We   got   into   it    as 

f 


a9o  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

iilently  as  we  could  manage,  and  cast  off.  It  was 
a  clumsy,  broad-beamed,  leaky  old  conveyance,  and 
that  it  was  as  dirty  as  Hewitt  had  described  it  I 
could  feel  as  I  groped  for  the  sculls  and  got  them 
out.  The  night  was  light  and  dark  by  turns — 
changing  with  the  clouds.  We  shipped  the  rudder, 
and  Styles  steered,  or  I  should  probably  have  run 
ashore  more  than  once,  for  the  banks  were  not 
always  distinct,  and  the  channel  was  narrow  and 
dark.  We  passed  the  black  forms  of  several 
factories  with  tall  chimneys,  and  then  drew  out 
among  the  Marshes,  flat  and  grey,  with  wisps  of 
mist  lying  here  and  there.  So  we  went  in  silence 
for  a  while,  till  at  last  we  drew  in  against  the  bank 
on  the  left  and  laid  hold  by  a  post  at  a  landing- 
place. 

*  This  is  the  Channel  Marsh,"  whispered  Styles,  as 
we  climbed  cautiously  ashore.  "We  can't  see  the 
house  very  well  from  here,  but  there's  where 
Mr.  Hewitt  will  come  through." 

Looking  over  the  top  of  the  low  bank,  we  could 
discern  a  path  which  traversed  the  length  of  the 
marsh,  entering  it  by  a  broken  gate  at  a  neck  of 
land  which  we  must  have  passed  on  our  way.  Here 
we  crouched  and  waited.  We  had  heard  the  half- 
hour  struck  on  some  distant  clock  soon  after  enter- 
ing the  boat,  and  now  we  waited  anxiously  for  the 


CHANNEL   MARSH  aoi 

three-quarters.  So  long  did  the  time  seem  to  my 
excited  perceptions  that  I  had  quite  decided  that  the 
clock  must  have  stopped,  or,  at  any  rate,  did  not 
chime  quarters,  when  at  last  the  strokes  came,  distant 
and  plaintive,  over  the  misty  flats. 

"A  quarter  of  an  hour,"  Plummer  remarked.  "He 
won't  be  a  minute  late,  nor  a  minute  too  early,  from 
what  I  know  of  him.  How  long  will  it  take  him 
from  that  gate  to  the  ruin  t* 

44  Eight  or  nine  minutes,  good,"  Styles  answered. 

44  Then  we  shall  see  him  in  seven  minutes  or  six 
minutes,  as  the  case  may  be,"  Plummer  rejoined  in 
the  same  low  tones. 

Slowly  the  minutes  dragged,  with  not  a  sound 
about  us  save  the  sucking  and  lapping  of  the  muddy 
river  and  the  occasional  flop  of  a  water-rat.  The 
dark  clouds  were  now  fewer,  and  the  moon  was  high 
and  only  partially  obscured  by  the  thinner  clouds 
that  traversed  its  face.  More  than  once  I  fancied  a 
sound  from  the  direction  of  the  ruin,  and  then  I 
doubted  my  fancy ;  when  at  last  there  was  a  sound 
indeed,  but  from  the  opposite  direction,  and  in  a 
moment  we  saw  Hewitt,  muffled  close  about  the 
neck,  walking  briskly  up  the  path. 

We  regained  the  boat  with  all  possible  speed  and 
silence,  and  I  pulled  my  best,  regardless  of  my  stiff 
wrist.     During  our  watch  I  had  had  time  to  perceive 


29*  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

the  wisdom  of  the  arrangements  which  had  been 
made.  We  had  been  watching  from  a  place  fairly 
out  of  sight  from  the  ruin,  yet  sufficiently  near  it  to 
be  able  to  reach  its  neighbourhood  before  Hewitt ; 
and  certainly  it  was  better  to  approach  the  actual 
spot  at  the  same  time  as  Hewitt  himself,  for  then,  if 
he  were  being  watched  for,  the  attention  of  the 
watcher  would  be  diverted  from  us. 

Presently  we  reached  the  reed-bed  that  Hewitt  had 
spoken  of,  and  I  could  see  a  sort  of  little  creek  or 
inlet.  Here  I  ceased  to  pull,  and  Styles  cautiously 
punted  us  into  the  creek  with  one  of  the  sculls. 
The  boat  grounded  noiselessly  in  the  mud,  and  we 
crept  ashore  one  at  a  time  through  mud  and 
sedge. 

The  creek  was  edged  with  a  bank  of  rough,  broken 
ground,  grown  with  coarse  grass  and  bramble,  and 
as  we  peeped  over  this  bank  the  ruined  house  stood 
before  us — so  near  as  to  startle  me  by  its  proximity. 
It  must  have  been  a  large  house  originally — if,  indeed, 
it  was  ever  completed.  Now  it  stood  roofless,  dis- 
mantled, and  windowless,  and  in  many  places  whole 
rods  of  brickwork  had  fallen  and  now  littered  the 
ground  about.  The  black  gap  of  the  front  door 
stood  plain  to  see,  with  a  short  flight  of  broken  steps 
before  it,  and  by  the  side  of  these  a  thick  timber 
shore  supported  the  front  wall.     It  struck  me  then 


CHANNEL   MARSH  293 

that  the  ruin  was  perhaps  largely  due  to  a  failure  of 
the  marshy  foundation. 

The  place  seemed  silent  and  empty.  Hewitt's 
footsteps  were  now  plain  to  hear,  and  presently  he 
appeared,  walking  briskly  as  before.  He  could  not 
see  us,  and  did  not  look  for  us,  but  made  directly  for 
the  broken  steps.  He  mounted  these,  paused  on  the 
topmost,  and  struck  a  match.  It  seemed  a  rather 
large  hall,  and  I  caught  a  momentary  glimpse  of  bare 
rafters  and  plasterless  wall.  Then  the  match  went 
out  and  Hewitt  stepped  within. 

Almost  on  the  instant  there  came  a  loud  jar,  and 
a  noise  of  falling  bricks ;  and  then,  in  the  same 
instant  of  time  I  heard  a  terrific  crash,  and  saw 
Hewitt  leap  out  at  the  front  door — leap  out,  as  it 
seemed,  from  a  cloud  of  dust  and  splinters. 

I  sprang  to  my  feet,  but  Plummer  pulled  me  down 
again.  "Steady!"  he  said,  "lie  low!  He  isn't  hurt. 
Wait  and  see  before  we  show  ourselves." 

It  seemed  that  the  floor  above  had  fallen  on  the 
spot  where  Hewitt  had  been  standing.  He  had 
alighted  from  his  leap  on  hands  and  knees,  but  now 
stood  facing  the  house,  revolver  in  hand,  watching. 

There  was  a  moment's  pause,  a  sound  of  move- 
ment from  the  upper  part  of  the  ruin,  another  quiet 
moment,  and  then  a  bang  and  a  flash  from  high  on 
the  waH  to  the  right    Hewitt  sprang  to  shelter  behind 


294  THE   RED  TRIANGLE 

the  heavy  shore,  and  another  shot  followed  him, 
scoring  a  white  line  across  the  thick  timber. 

Plummer  was  up,  and  Styles  and  I  were  after  him. 

*  There  he  is  I "  cried  Plummer,  u  up  on  the 
coping ! "     I  pulled  out  my  own  pistol. 

"Don't  shoot!"  cried  Hewitt.  "We'll  take  him 
alive!" 

Far  to  the  right,  on  the  topmost  coping  of  the 
front  wall,  I  could  see  a  crouching  figure.  I  saw  it 
rise  to  its  knees,  and  once  more  raise  an  arm  to  take 
aim  at  Hewitt ;  and  then,  with  a  sudden  cry,  another 
human  figure  appeared  from  behind  the  coping  and 
sprang  upon  the  first.  There  was  a  moment  of 
struggle,  and  then  the  rotten  coping  crumbled,  and 
down,  down,  came  bricks  and  men  together. 

I  sickened.  I  can  only  explain  my  feeling  by 
saying  that  never  before  had  I  seen  anything  that 
seemed  so  long  in  falling  as  those  two  men.  And 
then  with  a  horrid  crash  they  struck  the  broken 
ground,  and  the  pistol  fired  again  with  the  shock. 

We  reached  them  in  a  dozen  strides,  and  turned 
them  over,  limp,  oozing,  and  lifeless.  And  then  we 
saw  that  one  was  Mayes,  and  the  other — Victor 
Peytral ! 

We  kept  no  silence  now,  but  Plummer  blew  his 
whistle  loud  and  long,  and  I  fired  my  revolver  into 
the  air,  chamber  after  chamber.     Styles  started  off  at 


CHANNEL   MARSH  295 

a  run  along  the  path  towards  the  town  lights,  to 
fetch  what  aid  he  might. 

But  even  then  we  had  doubt  if  any  aid  would 
avail  Mayes.  He  was  the  under  man  in  the  fall,  and 
he  had  dropped  across  a  little  heap  of  bricks.  He 
now  lay  unconscious,  breathing  heavily,  with  a 
terrible  wound  at  the  back  of  the  head,  and  Hewitt 
foretold — and  rightly — that  when  the  doctor  did 
come  he  would  find  a  broken  spine.  Peytral,  on 
the  other  hand,  though  unconscious,  showed  no 
sign  of  injury,  and  just  before  the  doctor  came 
sighed  heavily  and  turned  on  his  side. 

First  there  came  policemen,  and  then  in  a  little 
time  a  hastily  dressed  surgeon,  and  after  him  an 
ambulance.  Mayes  was  carried  off  to  hospital,  but 
with  a  good  deal  of  rubbing  and  a  little  brandy, 
Peytral  came  round  well  enough  to  be  helped  over 
the  Marshes  to  a  cab. 

The  trap  which  had  been  laid  for  Hewitt  was 
simple,  but  terribly  effective.  The  floor  above  the 
hall — loose  and  broken  everywhere — was  supported 
on  rafters,  and  the  rafters  were  crossed  underneath 
and  supported  at  the  centre  by  a  stout  beam.  The 
rafters  had  been  sawn  through  at  both  ends,  and  the 
rotten  floor  had  been  piled  high  with  broken  brick 
and  stone  to  a  weight  of  a  ton  or  more.  The  end  of 
a  loose  beam  had  been  wedged  obliquely  under  the 


296         THE  RED  TRIANGLE 

end  of  the  one  timber  now  supporting  the  whole 
weight,  so  that  a  pull  on  the  opposite  end  of  this  long 
lever  would  force  away  the  bricks  on  which  the  beam 
rested  and  let  the  whole  weight  fall.  It  was  the  jar 
of  the  beam  and  the  fall  of  the  first  few  loose  bricks 
that  had  so  far  warned  Hewitt  as  to  enable  him  to 
leap  from  under  the  floor  almost  as  it  fell. 

Peytral's  sudden  appearance,  when  we  had  time 
to  reflect  on  it,  gave  us  a  suspicion  as  to  some  at 
least  of  the  espionage  to  which  Hewitt  had  been 
subjected — a  suspicion  confirmed,  later,  by  Peytral 
himself  after  his  recovery  from  the  shock  of  the  fall. 
For  fresh  news  of  his  enemy  had  re-awakened  all 
his  passion,  and  since  he  alone  could  not  find  him, 
he  was  willing  enough  to  let  Hewitt  do  the  tracking 
down,  if  only  he  himself  might  clutch  Mayes's  throat 
in  the  end.  This  explained  the  "business"  that 
had  called  him  away  after  the  Barbican  stronghold 
had  been  captured  ;  finding  both  Hewitt  and 
Plummer  somewhat  uncommunicative,  and  himself 
somewhat  "  out  of  it,"  he  had  drawn  off,  and  had 
followed  Hewitt's  every  movement,  confident  that 
he  would  be  led  to  his  old  enemy  at  last.  What  I 
had  told  him  of  the  cypher  message  had  led  him  to 
hunt  out  Channel  Marsh  in  the  afternoon,  and  to 
return  at  midnight.  He,  of  course,  regarded  the 
message,  as  I  did  myself  at  the  time,  as  a  perfectly 


CHANNEL   MARSH  297 

genuine  instruction  from  Mayes  to  Sims,  and  he 
came  to  the  rendezvous  wholly  in  ignorance  as  to 
what  Hewitt  was  doing,  and  with  no  better  hope 
than  that  he  might  hear  something  that  would  lead 
him  in  the  direction  of  Mayes.  He  had  entered  the 
marsh  after  dark  from  the  upper  end,  and  had  lain 
concealed  by  the  other  channel  till  near  midnight ; 
then  he  had  crept  to  the  rear  of  the  ruin  and  climbed 
to  where  an  opening  seemed  to  offer  a  good  chance 
of  hearing  what  might  pass  in  the  hall.  He  had 
heard  Hewitt  approach  from  the  front,  and  the  crash 
that  followed.    The  rest  we  had  seen. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE  ADVENTURE  OF  CHANNEL  MARSH   (CONTINUED) 

Mayes  never  recovered  consciousness,  and  was  dead 
when  we  visited  the  hospital  the  day  after ;  both 
skull  and  spine  were  badly  fractured.  And  the  very 
last  we  saw  of  the  Red  Triangle  was  the  implement 
with  which  it  had  been  impressed,  which  was  found 
in  his  pocket. 

It  was  a  small  triangular  prism  of  what  I  believe 
is  called  soapstone.  It  was  perhaps  four  inches 
long,  and  the  face  at  the  end  corresponded  with  the 
mark  that  Hewitt  had  seen  on  the  forehead  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Mason.  It  fitted  closely  in  a  leather  case,  in 
the  end  of  which  was  a  small,  square  metal  box  full 
of  the  red,  greasy  pigment  with  which  the  mark  had 
been  impressed. 

It  was  from  Broady  Sims  that  we  learnt  the  exact 
use  and  meaning  of  this  implement :  though  he 
would  not  say  a  word  till  he  had  seen  with  his  own 
eyes  Mayes  lying  dead  in  the  mortuary.  Then  he 
gasped  his  relief  and  said,  u  That's  the  end  of  some- 


CHANNEL   MARSH  299 

thing  worse  than  slavery  for  me  1     I'll  turn  straight 
After  this." 

Sims's  story  was  long,  and  it  went  over  ground 
that  concerns  none  of  Hewitt's  adventures.  But 
what  we  learned  from  it  was  briefly  this.  It  had  been 
Mayes's  way  to  meet  clever  criminals  as  they  left 
gaol  after  a  term  of  imprisonment.  In  this  manner 
he  had  met  Sims.  He  had  made  great  promises, 
had  spoken  of  great  ideas  which  they  could  put 
into  execution  together,  had  lent  him  money,  and 
then  at  last  had  "  initiated "  him,  as  he  called  it. 
He  had  put  him  to  lie  back  in  a  chair  and  had 
directed  his  gaze  on  the  Red  Triangle  held  in  the 
air  before  him  :  and  then  the  Triangle  had  descended 
gently,  and  he  felt  sleepy,  till  at  the  cold  touch  of 
the  thing  on  his  forehead  his  senses  had  gone. 
This  was  done  more  than  once,  and  in  the  end  the 
vifjtim  found  that  Mayes  had  only  to  raise  the 
Triangle  before  him  to  send  him  to  sleep  instantly. 
Then  he  found  that  he  must  do  certain  things,  whether 
he  wanted  or  not.  And  it  ended  in  complete  sub- 
servience ;  so  that  Mayes  could  set  him  to  perpetrate 
a  robbery  and  then  appropriate  the  proceeds  for 
himself,  for  by  post-hypnotic  suggestion  he  could 
force  him  to  bring  and  hand  over  every  penny.  More, 
the  poor  wretch  was  held  in  constant  terror,  for  he 
knew  that  his  very  life  depended  on  the  lift  of  his 


3oo  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

master's  hand.  He  could  be  sent  into  lethargy  by 
a  gesture  and  killed  in  that  state.  That  very 
thing  was  done,  in  fact,  as  we  have  seen,  in  two 
cases. 

Sims  was  but  one  of  a  gang  of  such  criminals, 
brought  to  heel  and  made  victims.  Their  minds  and 
souls,  such  as  they  were,  had  passed  into  the  mis- 
creant's keeping,  and  terror  reinforced  the  power  of 
hypnotism.  They  committed  crimes,  and  when  they 
failed  they  took  the  punishment;  when  they  suc- 
ceeded Mayes  took  the  gains,  or  at  any  rate  the 
greater  part  of  them.  He  went,  also,  among  people 
who  were  not  yet  criminals,  and  by  degrees  made 
them  so,  to  his  own  profit.  The  case  of  Henning, 
the  correspondence  clerk,  was  one  that  had  come 
under  Hewitt* s  eyes.  He  used  his  faculty  also  with 
great  cunning  in  other  ways — as  we  had  seen  in  the 
matter  of  the  Admiralty  code.  And  it  was  even  said 
among  the  gang  that  a  man  he  had  once  hypnotised 
he  could  force  by  suggestion  to  commit  suicide  when 
he  became  useless  or  inconvenient. 

Sims  and  the  ragged  fellow  who  had  decoyed  me 
into  Mayes's  den  were  the  only  members  of  the 
gang  whom  we  could  identify  after  his  death,  but 
many  others  must  have  shared  their  relief ;  and  I 
sincerely  hope — though  I  hardly  expect — that  they 
all  availed  themselves  of  their  liberty  to  abandon 


CHANNEL   MARSH  301 

their  evil  courses.    As  in  fact  the  two  I  speak  of 
did,  and  took  to  honest  work. 

All  that  had  remained  mysterious  in  the  earlier 
cases  now  became  clear.  In  the  first,  the  case  of 
Samuel's  diamonds,  Denson  had  been  put  into  the 
office  where  Samuel  had  found  him,  by  Mayes,  with 
the  express  design  of  effecting  a  diamond  robbery. 
The  robbery  was  effected,  and  the  unhappy  Denson 
formed  a  plan  of  making  a  bolt  of  it  himself  with 
the  diamonds.  He  was,  perhaps,  what  is  called  a 
difficult  subject  in  hypnotism — amenable  enough  to 
direct  influence,  but  not  sufficiently  retentive  of 
post-hypnotic  suggestion.  He  hid  the  jewels  and 
adopted  a  disguise,  but  Mayes  was  watching 
him  better  than  he  supposed.  The  diamonds  were 
lost,  but  Denson  was  found  and  done  to  death — 
probably  not  in  that  retreat  near  Barbican,  but  at 
night  in  some  empty  street.  The  diamonds  were 
not  found  on  him,  and  the  body,  with  the  mark  of 
the  Triangle  still  on  it,  was  taken  by  night  to  a 
central  spot  in  London  and  there  left.  Mayes  pro- 
bably thought  that  a  notable  example  like  this,  so 
boldly  displayed  and  so  conspicuously  reported  in 
the  Press,  would  impress  his  auxiliaries  throughout 
London  with  the  terror  that  was  one  of  his  weapons; 
for  they  would  well  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
Red  Triangle,  and  they  would  receive  a  striking 


3o2  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

.ilustration  of  the  consequences  of  rebellion  or  bad 
faith.  The  money  and  the  watch  were  left  in  the 
pockets  because  they  were  trifles  after  the  loss  of 
fifteen  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  diamonds,  and 
their  presence  in  the  pockets  made  the  murder  the 
less  easy  to  understand — which  was  a  point  gained. 
And  as  to  the  keys — Mayes  knew  nothing  of  where 
the  diamonds  were  hidden,  and  so  had  no  use  for 
them.  For  where  could  he  use  them  ?  Denson 
had  left  his  lodgings,  and  as  to  the  office,  that,  he 
would  guess,  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  police, 
on  Samuel's  complaint.  The  immediate  result  of 
this  affair  on  the  only  honest  member  of  Mayes's 
circle  I  have  told  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Jacob  Mason. 
He  was  not  yet  thoroughly  in  Mayes's  hands,  but  he 
had  "dabbled,"  as  he  remorsefully  confessed,  and 
Mayes  had  already  found  him  useful.  He  was 
dangerous,  and  his  end  came  quickly.  Another 
victim  who  had  probably  begun  innocently  enough 
was  Henning,  the  clerk  to  Kingsley,  Bell  and 
Dalton,  and  his  death  in  the  Penn's  Meadow  barn 
leaves  a  mystery  that  never  can  be  positively 
cleared  up.  Was  it  murder  or  was  it  suicide  by 
posthypnotic  suggestion  ?  It  will  be  remembered 
thai  the  fire  burst  out  in  the  barn  after  Mayes  had 
left  it. 

Th«?    case    of     Mr.    Telfer  was  explained    clearly 


CHANNEL   MARSH  303 

enough  by  Hewitt  at  the  time  ;  but  it  is  an  example 
of  the  snares  that  lie  open  for  the  most  innocent 
person  who  allows  himself  to  be  made  the  subject 
of  hypnotic  experiments  at  the  hands  of  persons 
with  whom,  and  with  whose  objects,  he  is  not 
thoroughly  acquainted.  And  it  must  be  remembered 
that  at  this  time  there  are  persons  advertising  to 
teach  the  practice  of  hypnotism  to  anybody  who  will 
pay  ;  to  anybody  who  may  use  the  terrible  power  as 
he  pleases.  More,  the  danger  is  so  great  that  it  has 
led  two  eminent  men  of  science  to  issue  a  public 
protest  and  warning,  with  an  urgent  plea  that  the 
practice  of  hypnotism  be  restricted  by  law  at  least 
as  closely  as  that  of  vivisection. 

As  to  what  would  have  happened  if  Plummer  and 
I  had  yielded  to  Mayes's  threats  so  far  as  to  undergo 
the  "  initiation "  he  proposed,  at  the  time  we  were 
helpless  in  his  hands — of  that  I  have  little  doubt. 
I  cannot  suppose  that  he  would  have  wasted  much 
time  over  me,  once  I  had  fallen  lethargic.  When 
Hewitt  burst  in  he  would  have  found  me  lying  dead, 
with  the  Red  Triangle  on  my  forehead.  It  would 
have  saved  Mayes  a  lot  of  noise  and  struggle,  at 
least. 

But  I  often  wonder  whether  or  not  there  was  any- 
thing in  his  reference  to  the  place  beyond  the  sea, 
where  he  would  make  me  a  great  man  if  1  did  as  he 


3o4  THE   RED   TRIANGLE 

wished.  Was  it  his  design,  having  accumulated 
sufficient  wealth,  to  return  and  take  his  natural 
place  among  the  enlightened  rulers  of  Hayti  ?  He 
would  not  have  been  so  much  worse  than  some  of 
the  others. 


%.  C.  jpaoe  anb  Company's 

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Carolina  Lee 

By  Lilian  Bell,  author  of  "  Hope  Loring,"  "  Abroad  with  the 

Jimmies,"  etc. 

With  a  frontispiece  in  colour  from  an  oil  painting  by  Dora  Wheeler 

Keith #1.50 

A  typical  "  Lilian  Bell "  book,  bright,  breezy,  amusing,  philosophic, 
full  of  fun  and  bits  of  quotable  humour. 

Carolina  is  a  fascinating  American  girl,  born  and  educated  in  Palis, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  story  riding  on  the  top  wave  of  success 
in  New  York  society.  A  financial  catastrophe  leaves  her  stranded 
without  money,  and  her  only  material  asset  an  old,  run-down  planta- 
tion in  South  Carolina.  In  the  face  of  strong  opposition  she  goes 
South  to  restore  the  old  homestead  and  rebuild  her  fortunes.  Com- 
plications speedily  follow,  but,  with  indomitable  faith  and  courage, 
Carolina  perseveres  until  her  efforts  are  rewarded  by  success  and 
happiness. 

The  Cruise  of  the  Conqueror 

Being  the  Further  Adventures  of  the  Motor  Pirate. 

By  G.  Sidney   Paternoster,  author  of  "The   Motor  Pirate," 

etc. 

With  a  frontispiece  by  Frank  T.  Merrill     .         .         .         .     #1.50 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  games  to  childhood  is  the  old-fash- 
ioned "  hide-and-seek,"  with  its  scurrying  for  covert,  its  breathless 
suspense  to  both  hider  and  seeker,  and  its  wild  dash  for  goal  when 
the  seeker  is  successful.  Readers  of  "The  Motor  Pirate "  will  re- 
member the  exciting  game  played  by  the  motor  pirate  and  his  pur- 
suers, and  will  be  glad  to  have  the  sport  taken  up  again  in  the  new 
volume. 

In  "The  Cruise  of  the  Conqueror,"  a  motor-boat  enables  the 
motor  pirate  to  pursue  his  victims  in  even  a  bolder  and  more 
startling  way,  such,  for  example,  as  the  hold-up  of  an  ocean  steamer 
and  the  seizure  for  ransom  of  the  Prince  of  Monte  Carlo. 


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The  Passenger  from  Calais 

A  Detective  Story.     By  Arthur  Griffiths. 

Cover  design  by  Eleanor  Hobson $*-2S 

A  bright,  quickly  moving  detective  story  telling  of  the  adventures 
which  befell  a  mysterious  lady  flying  from  Calais  through  France 
into  Italy,  closely  pursued  by  detectives.  Her  own  quick  wits, 
aided  by  those  of  a  gallant  fellow  passenger,  give  the  two  officers 
an  unlooked-for  and  exciting  "  run  for  their  money."  One  hardly 
realizes  till  now  the  dramatic  possibilities  of  a  xailway  train,  and 
what  an  opportunity  for  excitement  may  be  afforded  by  a  joint 
railway  station  for  two  or  more  roads. 

It  is  a  well-planned,  logical  detective  story  of  the  better  sort,  free 
from  cheap  sensationalism  and  improbability,  developing  surely  and 
steadily  by  means  of  exciting  situations  to  an  unforeseen  and  satis- 
factory ending. 

The  Golden  Arrow 

By  T.  Jenkins  Hains,  author  of  "The  Black  Barque,"  "The 

Windjammers,"  etc. 

With  six  illustrations  by  H.  C.  Edwards     .         .         .         .     $1.50 

Another  of  Captain  Hains's  inimitable  sea  stories,  in  which  piracy, 
storm,  and  shipwreck  are  cleverly  intermingled  with  love  and  romance, 
and  vivid  and  picturesque  descriptions  of  life  at  sea.  Mr.  Hains's 
new  story  describes  the  capture  on  the  high  seas  of  an  American 
vessel  by  a  gang  of  convicts,  who  have  seized  and  burned  the 
English  ship  on  which  they  were  being  transported,  and  their  final 
recapture  by  a  British  man-of-war. 

The  Treasure  Trail 

By  Frank  L.  Pollock. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative #1.25 

This  is  a  splendid  story  of  adventure,  full  of  good  incidents  that 
are  exceptionally  exciting.  The  story  deals  with  the  search  for  gold 
bullion,  originally  stolen  from  the  Boer  government  in  Pretoria,  and 
stored  in  a  steamer  sunk  somewhere  in  the  Mozambique  Channel. 
Two  different  search  parties  are  endeavouring  to  secure  the  treasure, 
and  the  story  deals  with  their  adventures  and  its  final  recovery  by 
one  party  only  a  few  hours  before  the  arrival  of  the  second. 

The  book  reads  like  an  extract  from  life,  and  the  whole  story  is 
vivid  and  realistic  with  descriptions  of  the  life  of  a  party  of  gentle- 
men adventurers  who  are  willing  to  run  great  odds  for  great  gains. 

There  is  also  "  a  woman  in  the  case,"  Margaret  Laurie,  who  proves 
a  delightful,  reliant,  and  audacious  heroine. 


LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION 


Miss  Frances  Baird,  Detective 

By  Reginald  Wright  Kauffman,  author  of  "  Jarvis  of  Har- 
vard," etc. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative $i .25 

A  double  robbery  and  a  murder  have  given  Mr.  Kauffman  the 
material  for  his  clever  detective  story.  Miss  Baird  tells  how  she 
finally  solved  the  mystery,  and  how  she  outwitted  the  other  detec- 
tive at  work  on  the  case,  by  her  woman's  intuition  and  sympathy, 
when  her  reputation  for  keenness  and  efficiency  was  hanging  in  the 
balance. 

The  Idlers 

By  Morley  Roberts,  author  of  "  Rachel   Marr,"   "  Lady  Pe- 
nelope," etc. 

With  frontispiece  in  colour  by  John  C.  Frohn  .  .  .  $1.50 
The  London  Literary  World  says :  "  In  '  The  Idlers '  Mr.  Morley 
Roberts  does  for  the  smart  set  of  London  what  Mrs.  Wharton  has 
done  in  '  The  House  of  Mirth  '  for  the  American  social  class  of  the 
same  name.  His  primary  object  seems  to  be  realism,  the  portrayal 
of  life  as  it  is  without  exaggeration,  and  we  weie  impressed  by  the 
reserve  displayed  by  the  novelist.  It  is  a  powerful  novel,  a  merci- 
less dissection  of  modern  society  similar  to  that  which  a  skilful  sur- 
geon would  make  of  a  pathological  case." 

The  New  York  Sun  says :  M  //  is  as  absorbing  as  the  devil.  Mr. 
Roberts  gives  us  the  antithesis  of  '  Rachel  Marr '  in  an  equally 
masterful  and  convincing  work." 

Professor  Charles  G.  D.  Roberts  says :  "  It  is  a  work  of  great 
ethical  force." 

Stand  Pat 

Or,  Poker  Stories  from  Brownville.    By  David  A.  Cur- 
tis, author  of  "  Queer  Luck,"  etc. 

With  six  drawings  by  Henry  Roth $1.50 

Mr.  Curtis  is  the  poker  expert  of  the  New  York  Sun,  and  many 
of  the  stories  in  "Stand  Pat"  originally  appeared  in  the  Sun.  Al- 
though in  a  sense  short  stories,  they  have  a  thread  of  continuity,  in 
that  the  principal  characters  appear  throughout.  Every  poker  player 
will  enjoy  Mr.  Curtis's  clever  recital  of  the  strange  luck  to  which 
Dame  Fortune  sometimes  treats  her  devotees  in  the  uncertain  game 
of  draw  poker,  and  will  appreciate  the  startling  coups  by  which  she 
is  occasionally  outwitted. 


4    L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S  LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION 

The  Count  at  Harvard 

Being  an  Account  of  the  Adventures  of  a  Young 
Gentleman  of  Fashion  at  Harvard  University.  By 
Rupert  Sargent  Holland. 

With  a  characteristic  cover  design $1.50 

With  the  possible  exception  of  Mr.  Flandrau's  work,  the  "  Count 
at  Harvard  "  is  the  most  natural  and  the  most  truthful  exposition  of 
average  student  life  yet  written,  and  is  thoroughly  instinct  with  the 
real  college  atmosphere.  "The  Count  "is  not  a  foreigner,  but  is 
the  nickname  of  one  of  the  principal  characters  in  the  book. 

The  story  is  clean,  bright,  clever,  and  intensely  amusing.  Typical 
Harvard  institutions,  such  as  the  Hasty  Pudding' Club,  The  Crimson, 
the  Crew,  etc.,  are  painted  with  deft  touches,  which  will  fill  the  soul 
of  every  graduate  with  joy,  and  be  equally  as  fascinating  to  all  college 
students. 


Selections  from 

L.  C.  Page  and  Company's 

List  of  Fiction 


WORKS  OF 

ROBERT  NEILSON  STEPHENS 

Each  one  vol.,  library  i2tno,  cloth  decorative    .         .         .    $i.JO 
The  Flight  of  Georgiana 

A  Romance  of  the  Days  of  the  Young  Pretender.  Illus- 
trated by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

"  A  love-story  in  the  highest  degree,  a  dashing  story,  and  a  re- 
markably well  finished  piece  of  work."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Bright  Face  of  Danger 

Being  an  account  of  some  adventures  of  Henri  de  Launay,  son  of 

the  Sieur  de  la  Tournoire.     Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

"  Mr.   Stephens   has  fairly  outdone    himself.       We  thank  him 

heartily.     The   story  is   nothing  if   not   spirited   and  entertaining, 

rational  and  convincing."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

The  Mystery  of  Murray  Davenport 

(40th  thousand.) 

"This  is  easily  the  best  thing  that  Mr.  Stephens  has  yet  done. 
Those  familiar  with  his  other  novels  can  best  judge  the  measure  of 
this  praise,  which  is  generous."  —  Buffalo  News. 

Captain  Ravenshaw 

Or,  The  Maid  of  Cheapside.  (52d  thousand.)  A  romance 
of  Elizabethan  London.  Illustrations  by  Howard  Pyle  and  other 
artists. 

Not  since  the  absorbing  adventures  of  D'Artagnan  have  we  had 
anything  so  good  in  the  blended  vein  of  romance  and  comedy. 

The  Continental  Dragoon 

A  Romance  of  Philipse  Manor  House  in  1778.  (53d 
thousand.)     Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

A  stirring  romance  of  the  Revolution,  with  its  scene  laid  on 
neutral  territory. 

I 


L.    C.   PAGE   AND    COMPANY'S 


Philip  Winwood 

(70th  thousand.)  A  Sketch  of  the  Domestic  History  of  an 
American  Captain  in  the  War  of  Independence,  embracir-g  events 
that  occurred  between  and  during  the  years  1763  and  1785  in 
New  York  and  London.     Illustrated  by  E.  W.  D.  Hamilton. 

An  Enemy  to  the  King 

(70th  thousand.)     From  the  "  Recently  Discovered  Memoirs   of 
the  Sieur  de  la  Tournoire."     Illustrated  by  H.  De  M.  Young. 
An   historical  romance  of  the   sixteenth  century,  describing  the 

adventures  of  a  young  French  nobleman  at  the  court  of  Henry  III., 

and  on  the  field  with  Henry  IV. 

The  Road  to  Paris 

A    Story   of  Adventure.      (35th   thousand.)      Illustrated  by 

H.  C.  Edwards. 

An  historical  romance  of  the  eighteenth  century,  being  an  accoui.t 
of  the  life  of  an  American  gentleman  adventurer  of  Jacobite  an- 
cestry. 

A  Gentleman  Player 

His  Adventures  on  a  Secret  Mission  for  Queen   Eliza- 
beth.    (48th  thousand.)     Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 
The  story  of  a  young  gentleman  who  joins  Shakespeare's  com- 
pany of  players,  and  becomes  a  friend  and  protege  of   the  great 
poet. 

WORKS  OF 

CHARLES  G    D,  ROBERTS 

Red  Fox 

The  Story  of  His  Adventurous  Career  in  the  Ringwaak 
Wilds,  and  of  His  Final  Triumph  over  the  Enemies  of 
His  Kind.  With  fifty  illustrations,  including  frontispiece  in 
color  and  cover  design  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  cloth  decorative $ 2.00 

"  Infinitely  more  wholesome  reading   than   the   average   tale   of 

sport,  since  it  gives  a  glimpse  of  the  hunt  from  the  point  of  view  of 

the  hunted."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

'*  True  in  substance  but  fascinating   as  fiction.     It  will  interest 

old  and  young,  city-bound  and  free-footed,  those  who  know  animals 

and  those  who  do  not."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

"A  brilliant  chapter  in   natural   history."  —  Philadelphia  North 

American. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


The  Kindred  of  the  Wild 

A  Book  of  Animal  Life.  With  fifty-one  full-page  plates  and 
many  decorations  from  drawings  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  decorative  cover $2.00 

"  Is  in  many  ways  the  most  brilliant  collection  of  animal  stories 
that  has  appeared ;  well  named  and  well  done."  — John  Burroughs. 

The  Watchers  of  the  Trails 

A   companion   volume  to   "  The  Kindred  of  the  Wild."     With 

forty-eight  full-page  plates  and  many  decorations  from  drawings 

by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  decorative  cover #2.00 

"  Mr.  Roberts  has  written  a  most  interesting  series  of  tales  free 
from  the  vices  of  the  stories  regarding  animals  of  many  other 
writers,  accurate  in  their  facts  and  admirably  and  dramatically  told." 
—  Chicago  News. 

"  These  stories  are  exquisite  in  their  refinement,  and  yet  robust 
in  their  appreciation  of  some  of  the  rougher  phases  of  woodcraft. 
Among  the  many  writers  about  animals,  Mr.  Roberts  occupies  an 
enviable  place."  —  The  Outlook. 

"  This  is  a  book  full  of  delight.  An  additional  charm  lies  in  Mr. 
Bull's  faithful  and  graphic  illustrations,  which  in  fashion  all  their 
own  tell  the  story  of  the  wild  life,  illuminating  and  supplementing 
the  pen  pictures  of  the  author."  —  Literary  Digest. 

Earth's  Enigmas 

A  new  edition  of  Mr.  Roberts's  first  volume  of  fiction,  published 
in  1892,  and  out  of  print  for  several  years,  with  the  addition  of 
three  new  stories,  and  ten  illustrations  by  Charles  Livingston 
Bull. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover         .         .         .         .     #1.50 

"It   will    rank    high   among   collections    of    short    stories.       In 

'Earth's  Enigmas  '  is  a  wider  range  of  subject  than  in  the  *  Kindred 

of  the  Wild.'  "  —  Review  from  advance  sheets  of  the  illustrated  edition 

by  Tiffany  Blake  in  the  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

Barbara  Ladd 

With  four  illustrations  by  Frank  Verbeck. 

Library  i2mo,  gilt  top $i-5° 

*  From  the  opening  chapter  to  the  final  page  Mr.  Roberts  lures 
us  on  by  his  rapt  devotion  to  the  changing  aspects  of  Nature  and 
by  his  keen  and  sympathetic  analysis  of  human  character."  — 
Boston  Transcript. 


L.    C.  PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 


Cameron  of  Lochiel 

Translated  from  the  French  of  Philippe  Aubert  de  Gaspe,  with 

frontispiece  in  color  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  12  mo,  cloth  decorative $1-50 

"  Professor  Roberts  deserves  the  thanks  of  his  reader  for  giving 
a  wider  audience  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  this  striking  bit  of  French 
Canadian  literature."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  It  is  not  often  in  these  days  of  sensational  and  philosophical 
novels  that  one  picks  up  a  book  that  so  touches  the  heart."  — 
Boston  Transcript. 

The  Prisoner  of  Mademoiselle 

With  frontispiece  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  gilt  top       .         .         .         .     $1.50 

A  tale  of  Acadia,  —  a  land  which  is  the  author's  heart's  delight, 
—  of  a  valiant  young  lieutenant  and  a  winsome  maiden,  who  first 
captures  and  then  captivates. 

"  This  is  the  kind  of  a  story  that  makes  one  grow  younger,  more 
innocent,  more  light-hearted.  Its  literary  quality  is  impeccable. 
It  is  not  every  day  that  such  a  heroine  blossoms  into  even  tempo- 
rary existence,  and  the  very  name  of  the  story  bears  a  breath  of 
charm."  —  Chicago  Record- Herald. 

The  Heart  of  the  Ancient  Wood 

With  six  illustrations  by  James  L.  Weston. 

Library  i2mo,  decorative  cover  .         .         .         .         .     $1.50 

"One  of  the  most  fascinating  novels  of  recent  days." — Boston 
Journal. 

"  A  classic  twentieth-century  romance."  —  New  York  Commercial 
Advertiser. 

The  Forge  in  the  Forest 

Being  the  Narrative  of  the  Acadian  Ranger,  Jean  de  Mer, 
Seigneur  de  Briart,  and  how  he  crossed  the  Black  Abbe,  and  of 
his  adventures  in  a  strange  fellowship.  Illustrated  by  Henry 
Sandham,  R.  C.  A. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top #1.50 

A  story  of  pure  love  and  heroic  adventure. 

By  the  Marshes  of  Minas 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated  .  .  .  .  $1.50 
Most    of  these  romances  are  in    the   author's   lighter  and  more 

playful   vein;   each   is  a  unit  of  absorbing  interest  and   exquisite 

workmanship. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


A  Sister  to  Evangeline 

Being  the  Story  of  Yvonne  de  Lamourie,  and  how  she  went  into 
exile  with  the  villagers  of  Grand  Pre. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated      .         .         .         .     $1.50 
Swift  action,  fresh  atmosphere,  wholesome  purity,  deep  passion, 
and  searching  analysis  characterize  this  strong  novel. 


WORKS  OF 

LILIAN    BELL 

Hope  Loring 

Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover  .         .         .         .     $1.50 

"  Lilian  Bell's  new  novel,  '  Hope  Loring,'  does  for  the  American 
girl  in  fiction  what  Gibson  has  done  for  her  in  art. 

"  Tall,  slender,  and  athletic,  fragile-looking,  yet  with  nerves  and 
sinews  of  steel  under  the  velvet  flesh,  frank  as  a  boy  and  tender 
and  beautiful  as  a  woman,  free  and  independent,  yet  not  bold  — 
such  is  '  Hope  Loring,'  by  long  odds  the  subtlest  study  that  has  yet 
been  made  of  the  American  girl."  —  Dorothy  Dix,  in  the  New  York 
American. 

Abroad  with  the  Jimmies 

With  a  portrait,  in  duogravure,  of  the  author. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover  ....     $1.50 

"  Full  of  ozone,  of  snap,  of  ginger,  of  swing  and  momentum."  — 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"...  Is  one  of  her  best  and  cleverest  novels  .  .  .  filled  to  the 
brim  with  amusing  incidents  and  experiences.  This  vivacious  narra- 
tive needs  no  commendation  to  the  readers  of  Miss  Bell's  well-known 
earlier  books."  —  N.  Y.  Press. 

At  Home  with  the  Jardines 

A  companion  volume  to  "  Abroad  with  the  Jimmies." 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative $150 

"  Bits  of  gay  humor,  sunny,  whimsical  philosophy,  and  keen  in- 
dubitable insight  into  the  less  evident  aspects  and  workings  of  pure 
human  nature,  with  a  slender  thread  of  a  cleverly  extraneous  love- 
story,  keep  the  interest  of  the  reader  fresh,  and  the  charmingly  old- 
fashioned  happy  ending  is  to  be  generously  commended.  Typical, 
characteristic  Lilian  Bell  sketches,  bright,  breezy,  amusing,  and 
philosophic."—  Chicago  Record-Herald. 


L.    C.   PAGE   AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Interference  of  Patricia 

With  a  frontispiece  from  drawing  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Small  i2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover $1.00 

"  There  is  life  and  action  and  brilliancy  and  dash  and  cleverness 
and  a  keen  appreciation  of  business  ways  in  this  story." —  Grand 
Rapids  Herald. 

"  A  story  full  of  keen  and  flashing  satire."  —  Chicago  Record- 
Herald. 

A  Book  of  Girls 

With  a  frontispiece. 

Small  i2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover $1.00 

"The  stories  are  all  eventful  and  have  effective  humor."  —  New 
York  Sun. 

"  Lilian  Bell  surely  understands  girls,  for  she  depicts  all  the  varia- 
tions of  girl  nature  so  charmingly." —  Chicago  Journal. 

The  above  two  volumes  boxed  in  special  holiday  dress,  per  set,  $230 


WORKS  OF 

ALICE  MacGOWAN  AND  GRACE  Mac- 
GOWAN  COOKE 

Return 

A  Story  of  the  Sea  Islands  in  1739.  With  six  illustrations 

by  C.  D.  Williams. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth $1.50 

"  So  rich  in  color  is  this  story,  so  crowded  with  figures,  it  seems 
like  a  bit  of  old  Italian  wall  painting,  a  piece  of  modern  tapestry, 
rather  than  a  modern  fabric  woven  deftly  from  the  threads  of  fact 
and  fancy  gathered  up  in  this  new  and  essentially  practical  country, 
and  therein  lies  its  distinctive  value  and  excellence." — AT.  Y.  Sun. 

"  At  once  tender,  thrilling,  picturesque,  philosophical,  and  dra- 
matic. One  of  the  most  delightful  romances  we  have  had  in  many 
a  day." —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

"^he  Grapple 

,Vith  frontispiece  in  color  by  Arthur  W.  Brown. 

Library  121x10,  cloth  decorative $1-50 

"The  movement  of  the  tale  is  swift  and  dramatic.  The  story  is 
so  original,  so  strong,  and  so  finely  told  that  it  deserves  a  large  and 
thoughtful  public.  It  is  a  book  to  read  with  both  enjoyment  and 
enlightenment."  —  N.  Y.  Times  Saturday  Review  of  Books. 


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